The True Self
by UnKnownSalvation
Summary: Judy wakes up one night to the scare of her life. Afterwards, she finds that maybe she doesn't know herself quite as much as she thought. Or Nick for that matter. Follow her and Nick as they work out their problems with each other while also managing their work life. Rated M for reasons. Cover art drawn by NeoNimbus
1. Paralysis

_**The True Self**_

 **Ch. 1 Paralysis**

Pain. That aching, stinging, unyielding and intense agony from a day of being out in the field on your feet without rest. The kind of pain that can only be induced from accidentally stepping on literally every single sharp or pointy object that just happened to be sitting in your path. A pain I was being forced to endure after being repeatedly denied a chance to just sit down and relax. Not anymore. Now, I could get all the rest I could ever wanted…now that I was on a two day break to let my feet heal.

My name is Judy Hopps and I have been cursed. Not literally, but after the day I had, you would think that was the case. I'm the first ever and currently only rabbit police officer in Zootopia, a distinction that I don't like others bringing up because it makes it seem like I got here because it would look good for the ZPD and the city rather than my own hard work and dedication.

Now, a normal day for me would usually involve maybe one or two different small crimes or nothing at all. Today, it felt like every single criminal in the city decided to commit a crime one after the other and I just happened to be within fifty feet of _all of them_! Seventeen. Seven-damn-teen different crimes in the same-damn-day! Seven ended in a foot chase, one turned into a hostage situation and the other nine, thankfully, ended with the perp just surrendering after we caught them in the act. I worked my full eight hours today and by that point, the chief was thinking I was a crime magnet and should just go home, rest and take a day off or two after the last foot chase ended with me and the perp almost getting hit by a car made for a hippo. Yeah, they say rabbit's feet are lucky. Well, I've got two of them and I didn't feel very lucky.

Thankfully, my partner, Nick, the first fox police officer, elected to handle the literal tower of paperwork that the two of us would have to fill out. I know it's weird that a fox and a bunny are partners and the best team on the force, according to Nick's not-so-humble opinion, but we never gave it any real thought. It just came naturally to us. Today was just another case of Nick looking out for me, despite the fact that I know he despises paperwork in its entirety, as he knew I probably would have a hard time even making it back home, let alone fill out paperwork. I would have argued with him on this, but my feet were putting up a pretty firm counterarguments. All of them starting with "OWWWW!"

I got a lift back to my apartment building and made my way up to my apartment, or should I say the little corner of hell that I picked out because the rent was cheap without actually deciding to maybe check to see if it was a good place to live. That's probably closer. My apartment was eight feet wide by twenty feet long. If that sounded like a lot, trust me, it isn't. The room permanently smelled of something that made me want to gag sometimes and the neighbors…

Oh god, the neighbors…these two, I swear, were always just constantly pressed up against my wall, listening to everything that happened in my room and giving colorful commentary to my life as loud as possible. I keep a rule to never hate anyone.

I've only ever had to make two exceptions.

I fished out my keys from my back pocket, unlocked and opened the door to the same creaking that I'd come to expect from it. I shut the door behind me and locked it. It was still daylight out, so I didn't need to turn on any lights. I briefly entertained the idea of eating or taking a shower before my tired body said "screw that" and led me to my bed. A short nap couldn't hurt. Thankfully the duo act wasn't home so I had something resembling silence for once. I dressed down until I was in nothing but a pair of orange and green panties and just flopped down on my bed, not even bothering with the blankets. It was summer. I would be warm enough without them were my thoughts.

* * *

I woke up suddenly at some point later that night, with a feeling that I was underwater, though I could clearly see that I was still in my room and I could breathe fine. My body felt so heavy that when I tried to move, I found that I strangely couldn't. My body just wouldn't respond at all. I tried to speak out for help, but I couldn't do that either. I then noticed something moving at the foot of my bed, just out of the very bottom of my peripheral vision. I could still move my eyes for what it was worth, but I still couldn't make out what was in the room. There wasn't enough light coming in through the window for me to make out any features. All I could see was a figure that had to be about four feet tall and had pointy ears. Then suddenly, the form wasn't at the foot of the bed anymore. It was now standing on top of the bed, looking down at me. I could make out a strange green glow in the figure's eyes that seemed familiar. My heartbeat started to skyrocket, as I laid helpless underneath this figure.

"What's wrong, Carrots?" The figure spoke with a smooth, sly voice that made my eyes widen and my heart nearly stop like my breathing had. Those words…that voice...it was Nick? I did give him a spare key to my apartment, but he never just barged in. "Can't move, can you? That's too bad…" Nick closed his glowing green eyes before opening them again; this time, they were a deep orange with a slit pupil. "I was hoping this would actually take some effort."

My breathing hitched up, as his body weight was suddenly down on me, feeling me up around my stomach, hips, and legs. I hadn't noticed before, but he was actually naked on top of me. I may not had much experience with things like this personally, but it didn't take me long to figure out where this was going. I tried desperately to move, but the more I tried, the more it felt like something was holding me down and the more intensely I could feel his paws running up and down my body.

"That's right, Carrots. Fight. Make this interesting for me," Nick spoke with something close to a growl, like he was eyeing me like I was just some piece of meat for him to force himself on. I could feel my body starting to heat up against my best wishes. My face and ears were burning from all the blood in them and I was hoping he wouldn't notice my nipples poking up through my fur. His eyes never left mine, piercing my soul as I was completely helpless to escape him. I closed my eyes to break his gaze, but my eyes were forced open when I felt something hot and wet on my neck. Nick had lowered himself down and started to lick and kiss both sides of my neck. My breathing and heart rate were already erratic enough, but now, it was like I was close to hyperventilating. I was at his mercy and he knew it, as he lightly bit down on my neck, raking his teeth across my skin and fur several times like he was using them as a comb, causing slight shivers in my body, before he pulled away.

"Well, I think that'll do for up there…but what about down here?" Nick lustfully asked, pointing down towards the spot between my legs. If my eyes could have opened any wider, they would have. "Even your panties have carrots on them? Heheh, why am I not surprised?" Nick's paw was massaging the inside of my thighs and giving just deliberately light passes on my pussy, each time sending a small surge up my spine. It was only after he stopped teasing me and actually started to rub two fingers against me that I really felt it. As much as I hated it, my body started to like it, as stronger surges traveled up my back, causing my face to scrunch up repeatedly. Then suddenly, it stopped…

I opened my eyes to see that Nick was gone and even stranger was that I could now move again, as I sat up in a flash, my heart threatening to break my ribs, my breathing so deep I was practically gulping air and I could still feel every single touch that he had given me. I raced out of bed and over to my sink, turning on the cold water and just started splashing it into my face. I turned on the nearby lamp light and just stared at my mirror. I still could feel the remnants of a blush in my face and ears, but everything else had faded, except for the fact that my panties now had a pretty bad wet spot. I then examined my neck beneath my fur, but saw no bite marks. Not even scratches. Confusion raced through my mind. How could I have felt all of that but there was no evidence that it had happened. It was too real to be some nightmare.

I looked over to my desk and checked the time. It was just after eleven at night. I didn't have to leave for work so there was no rush, but after something like what I had been through, who could sleep? What just happened was all I could think about, if it really did happened at all. I couldn't move and I was sexually assaulted by something that looked and sounded like my partner and best friend. Even worst, my body was enjoying it! What the hell was wrong with me?!

I had to clear my mind; I stripped down to nothing, before jumping into my tiny shower and turning on the cold water, shocking me awake and making me turn it on the hot water just a tad so I didn't start shivering. After I finished my shower, I grabbed some food from my tiny fridge that I kept near my desk and just grabbed the first thing I happened to see, which a few carrots were all I had. I made a mental note to buy different kinds of food. I sat down in my chair and just looked at my bed. I was going to need to make a choice. Either go back to bed and hope that nothing happens again or just stay up all night and prey I could make it through work tomorrow.

I sat there for about two hours, before I decided to press my luck and hope for the best. On the plus side, the night's events took my mind off my injured feet.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello everyone and my name is UnKnownSalvation but you can just call me Sal. As you can see, I'm a little weird but aren't we all to various degrees?**

 **Anyway, I was bored so I decided to write something on my new favorite movie and what came out is what you just read. Definitely not something I dabble in writing normally. I'm still debating on what to do from here so leave a review below and tell me what you think. Should I feel ashamed and never come near something M rated like this again or continue just to see how deep we can dig this rabbit hole.**

 **Sal out!**


	2. After Hours

**Ch. 2: After Hours**

Pain. The agonizing, burning and throbbing torment from a long day sitting at the desk, scribbling various facts and notes onto the police reports, on both paper and computer. The kind of pain you would get from using your wrist muscles that rarely seen its use for an all-day marathon of typing and writing. Normally, Judy would be the one doing this, but after what happened hours ago, I offered to do it for her instead, while she could head back home and relax. I figure it was simple and easy to pull off after seeing Judy blow through reports, but man, did I find that out the hard way. Though to be fair, she never had to do a laundry list of reports all in one day.

My name is Nick Wilde and I need an ice pack. Scratch that, make it two. I'm a cop, in case that wasn't made obvious and I'm also a reformed con fox. Yeah, great combo, I know. While everyone and their mothers had problems with the idea at first, most people came around to the idea of a fox cop. "Most" being the keyword. Yeah, I still get shit to this day.

Whoever says times flies by pretty fast when you're doing something didn't experience it in such a long and excruciating way that Carrots and I had to experience today. For some goddamn reason, fate decided to play a cruel trick on us by having seventeen freaking criminals popping up all over Zootopia when we least expected it, with each crime becoming increasingly more dangerous than the last, with one being a hostage situation. Thankfully, some luck was still on our side, as we managed to knock out the perp and rescue the hostage before things could have gotten much worse, but the damage was already done by then. Even though I was tired from all the mental stress, Carrots had it much worse than I did, because she was the one that had to run after the perps during the foot chases, while I called for backup and followed suit in the car. Her feet looked like they went through a cheese grater and back again.

Once we dealt with the hostage situation, we got back from field duty, but we, of course, had to file in today's paperwork. Seeing the massive tower of papers before us and the fact that Carrots had a hard enough time just getting up on the damn steps, to the point I had to piggy back her up them, prompted me to tell her that I'll stay and do the paperwork for her, while she should enjoy her two days off that she got from the Chief. Lucky bunny. I only got one damn day off. I did end up having to piggy back her back down the steps shortly afterwards, this time with her trying to argue with me that she was fine to do the paperwork. Of course, I countered her argument by immediately putting her down and then watching her wince in pain just from standing. She left soon after when Chief Bogo told her to stop being difficult and just go home and rest, calling her a crime magnet, which, I'll admit, was pretty funny. It was shocking, though, that she left without arguing any further, because normally, getting Carrots to stop being a cop was like telling a hippo to stop being a hippo. There are some things you just can't argue with.

I hope she appreciates this, because it would be nice to at least get a "thank you" for all the suffering I went through…I looked over at the clock to see that it was almost midnight, before I looked back at the stack of completed paperwork back at the desk. This left me in a total state of shock, for it had took me almost eight damn hours to finish all of them, but then again, Carrots has always been the one doing the paperwork herself and this is my first time doing this on my own. A sixteen hour work day...I thought they were a myth. I wouldn't be surprised if I came back on Sunday and found out I did them all wrong. I wish I could have just done the work then, but Bogo's an asshole when it comes to his precious paperwork and wants it done as soon as possible. Maybe if Bogo would find some sweet buffalo gal around Zootopia to settle down with, perhaps he could be bearable to be around at ZPD...what the hell am I saying? There's no way someone like Bogo would ever tie the knot, let alone be a family man. He's practically married to his job, just like Carrots is to her's.

I couldn't help but chuckled at the absurdity of Bogo and marriage mixing well together, before I let out a big yawn loud enough that made my co-worker Leon to start clapping, as it put any roar he could ever make to shame and I could feel my body was starting to get worn down, just like my already aching wrists. All I wanted was my bed so that I could sleep until three in the afternoon, something that I missed from my con man days. While I didn't do it often back then, I could at least do it when I felt like it and right now, I could hear the bed calling for me from a long unseen land, as I turned off the lamp from the desk, exited out the ZPD building and back to my cozy, comforting bed.

* * *

Getting back home was always more of a pain in the ass on foot than it was getting a lift home. Because all the guys I usually get a ride from had already left and I had no money for a cab, I had to do things the long way. Of course, I had considered using the ATM machines, but my experience with them in the past was less than pleasant at the best of times and one grade above a full scale machine revolt at the worst of times. It's almost like they're sentient and just flat out hate me. I also had to be extra careful as well, since it was the dead of night and there would be a lot of punks that would strike at the unfortunate souls that weren't prepared to defend themselves. Once again, though, dumb luck was on my side, as I didn't run into any of them, but maybe even those punk-ass scum buckets need a break or something now and then. It didn't help today was the busiest day in crime, so there probably wasn't any of them left. As far as I'm concerned, I was too tired to deal with any more perps anyway. The sweet sounds of sleep were summoning me.

I used to live in a dangerous part of town but now I live in a more…civilized section. It was mainly so Carrots didn't have to look over her shoulder to come hang out at my place, because my apartment made hers look like she lived in a dumpster. It was nice that I didn't have to look over my shoulder as often as I used to anymore, though I wish I didn't have to do it period.

I took the stairs to head back up to my place, since the damn elevator still hasn't been working for a week now, despite the landlord's claim that he'll have it fixed up immediately. And I thought I was a chronic liar, but this guy might as well try for a career in politics, just like ex-mayor Lionheart. I shook my head to one of the many poor excuses the asshole came up with and just continued walking upstairs, ignoring the intensifying pain from my feet, as I took one painful step after another. They were still probably in better shape than Carrots', though, as her feet were just nasty. It felt almost like a cruel joke, because I live on the top floor of a seven story apartment building, but I finally arrived at the seventh floor and walked towards the end of the hallway, where my humble abode was. At long last, it was home sweet home...though I had to freshen myself up first before hitting the sack. I hated going to bed without taking a shower first. Just feels… wrong to me.

So right away, I went into my bathroom and took a nice, warm shower, getting rid of the awful stench covering me from head to toe, before changing into a pair of clean boxers and readying myself for what will be equivalent to a small coma...or at least, that was the plan, until my phone suddenly rang, literally as I had just closed my eyes. I was pissed that my phone had to ring at a moment like this. Who would be calling me this late at night? Whatever, I decided to answer my phone and get it over with it as soon as possible. I needed some sleep, for crying out loud.

I groggily pulled my phone out of my pants, which continued to ring like mad, though the ringing only succeeded in giving me more headaches, before I noticed Judy's name on the caller ID and answer it right away. Why would she call me this late at night?

"Hello?" I asked, trying to sound as calmly and coolly as I could. I wasn't angry anymore, just curious and groggy.

"...Oh, hey Nick, so, um...how are you?" Carrots spoke in a way that didn't quite match up with how she normally spoke. Carrots seemed nervous, surprised and a bit distressed, but she was never good at hiding her emotions around me, but lord, she was trying hard. "I… um, didn't... wake you, did I?"

"I had just laid down when you called. What's up?" I asked once more, as I sat down on the bed.

"I... um..." was the response Carrots gave to me. It didn't help the way she said it made me more concerned for her as well. Why would she call me this late at night and not have anything to say?

"Carrots, are you okay?" Judy sounded really disoriented, like she had forgotten why she called. This wasn't the enthusiastic, optimistic and idealistic rabbit that I was familiar with. It was like having a conversation with a total stranger.

Judy, however, didn't respond back to my question and I was receiving nothing but silence instead. I frantically looked at the caller ID on my phone to see if the call had dropped. Her name was still there, but I still haven't heard from Carrots. What was going on? Why did she give me the silent treatment like that?

"Judy, are you-" before I could finish my sentence, I could hear the telltale sound of the phone call ending on the spot. I can't believe she would hung up on me like that.

"What-Oh no, you don't!" I muttered to myself. There was no way Judy was getting away that easily. I immediately tried to call her back, but it went straight to her voicemail. Well, that's just freaking spectacular. I put on a shirt and pants in a matter of seconds and made my way to the front door, intending to confront Judy and find out what the hell was going on with her. Whatever it was that was bothering Carrots, I'm going to find out what it is sooner or later.

But just as I reached for the front door, I suddenly stop myself at the last minute and put my hand down from the doorknob. What the hell was I even thinking?! I can't just march down from a seven floor apartment, walk three miles to Judy's place and interrogate her like she's some criminal in the middle of the night. She sounded extremely upset and to confront Judy now would only make things eighty times worse. As much as I wanted to check up on my friend, this was definitely not the right time to do so.

"I'll check up on her tomorrow morning. Hopefully, Judy would be back to her old self by then," I told myself, even though a part of me was still worried by the way Judy spoke to me on the phone. I laid myself down on my bed, but I no longer felt like sleeping. Now my mind was thinking about what was going with Judy. So much for sleeping in.

* * *

 **A/N: Judy, what did I tell you about calling people you have horrible rape nightmares about?**

 **Back by popular demand, it's Sal here with more stuff. I was actually quite surprised by how big a response I got. Normally it never gets that good. Overall, I'm thankful for all the reviews so far and I hope to put out a good enough product to keep you guys coming back. Good news is that I'm graduating college next week so I'll have a bit more free time to work on this. Until I get a job and then it's all downhill from there as far as scheduling goes.**

 **Now let's respond to some reviews I have something to say for:**

 **Sectetasian: ...Yes. Yes it was.**

 **Dmale: There really isn't a better word out there, is there? Well I'm glad that you thought last chapter was great.**

 **ZellaDay: *looks at shovel* I'm probably going to need something bigger... *Excavator pulls up* Now** _ **that's**_ **what I'm talking about!**


	3. Knock, Knock

**Ch. 3: Knock, Knock**

I couldn't imagine getting back to sleep anymore. No matter how hard I tried, nothing would get me to shut my eyes and doze off like I normally would. All I could do was sit on my bed, not really be aware of anything around me. Just kind of…existing with a wide eyed thousand yard stare, with a panicked look on my face that screamed exactly what I was thinking.

' _Why the hell did I just do that?!'_

That same question kept repeating in my head like a broken record again and again. For how long, I didn't give a damn by this point. I wanted to find the answer for it, but each time I think I found it, it suddenly slipped away from me and I go back asking myself that very same question again. I didn't intend on calling Nick. Hell, I would even think of _looking_ at him after that nightmare I had. But I did it anyway. I moved in a daze and before I realized what I was doing, I heard Nick's voice on the other end.

I was so confused and disoriented, that I sounded like a complete fool when I answered back and just when I thought it couldn't get any worse…he said my name. He called me "Judy".

Nick _almost_ _never_ used my name. I've heard him say it maybe once, maybe twice and probably for just a quick second that I might miss it, but unless it was very serious (which considering him, was like seeing a solar eclipse at the North Pole. In winter, no less), he would always call me as "Hopps" when we were at work or "Carrots", a nickname that he used since we first met over half a year ago, whenever we were alone. He used it as an insult back then, because he figured out I grew up on a carrot farm, but over time, it turned into a more affectionate nickname rather than something to belittle me. I was so shocked to hear it, I slammed the end button on my phone hard enough, that I thought I would crack the screen. Then, it rang again and nearly scared me to death. I could only hit the reject button, hoping he would stop trying and give up. Thankfully, he did after that one attempt.

I was ripped from my thoughts by the sound of a knocking outside my front door. I looked at my desk clock to see it was almost seven in the morning.

"It's seven already?!" I asked with shock and disbelief. I had been sitting on that bed in a fetal position since I called Nick. It didn't help that I could hear my two neighbors squabbling from the other side, probably back from who knows where, as their bickering became much louder than usual.

"Why don't watch where you're going?!"

"Maybe you should have been paying attention next time, jackass!"

"Why don't you come here and make me, asshat?!"

Those morons continued to bicker for what felt like an eternity, but then, they suddenly stopped arguing with one another and everything became silent, as if it nothing had happened.

"Thank goodness," I sighed with relief that my neighbors from hell ceased with their petty arguments. My relief was short-lived, however, as I heard a different knocking _on_ the front door again; this time, it was much louder, causing me to yelp in surprise. Against my better judgement, I spoke up, just to be sure.

"W-W-Who is it?" I nervously asked out loud. My cover was already blown anyway, so I might as well get this over with.

"Carrots, it's me. Can I come in?"

I gasped quietly, not expecting Nick to be here this early in the morning, before I took a good look at myself and blushed in embarrassment. I was so caught up with my own problems, that I forgot that I was still in nothing but my panties. The neighbors' bickerings didn't help much either, distracting me from my own problems for just one moment.

"Carrots, is everything alright?" Nick spoke once more, sounding more worrisome. "I just want to talk to you. That's all."

"Uh...hang on a sec," I called out, as I quickly threw in a pair of pants and a shirt, before heading to the front door. I didn't care if I was sloppy looking. The last thing I want is Nick seeing me in my unmentionables and making things between us more awkward than it already is.

"Alright Judy…" I muttered to myself, before approaching the front door. "Just act casual to Nick and everything will be fine."

I gave myself one big deep breath, before exhaling and opened the front door, giving my friend the biggest smile I could ever give to anyone.

"Hi there, Nick! Nice weather we're having today!" I tried to sound as my usual happy-go-lucky self, just like any other day.

"...Nice try, Carrots. I know that smile is a fake," Nick responded to me, unimpressed by my action, as he crossed his arms. "Also, it's going to rain soon, according to the weather report."

' _Damnit! I forgot he used to be a con-artist!'_ I cursed to myself, as my ears drooped behind my head, but it didn't matter. Nick needed to know the truth, so I might as well give it to him.

"Alright, you caught me," I cleared up my throat, before speaking to Nick again. "The thing is...I didn't mean to call you last night."

"Then why did you call me?" Nick asked me, looking confused. "I thought you might have something important to tell me."

"I...I speed dialed your number by accident and I freaked out what I did. I didn't know what to do or why I did it," I did my best to explain to Nick. It was probably the first thing today that wasn't a lie. I was actually trying to call my mom in the hopes I could talk to at least someone that wouldn't make things worse. Though I forgot that I switched around the speed dial numbers when I had to replace my phone after the... noodle shop incident. So instead of mom, I called Nick, the absolute worst choice.

"You know, you could have just said that to me on the phone last night, instead of giving me the silent treatment."

I scratched my head when Nick pointed this out, feeling quite embarrassed by it. I wish I had done that in the first place. Normally, I'm a fast-thinker, but this? I can't seem to grab any thoughts to help me out. Everything feels… blank.

"Can I at least come inside? It would probably be better than us talking in the doorway," Nick suggested, looking both ways down the hall to see if anyone was there.

"Oh yeah, sure. Come right in," I sheepishly replied, allowing Nick into my place.

"Still looks… small compared to my place," he remarked, getting a good look around my apartment.

"It's not much, but it's what I can afford on my salary," I replied. It was true, because as a new member of the force, I wasn't paid as well as some of the others. Nick made just less than me, so I guess it's something to brag about, but he had enough money saved up from all that tax evasion that it didn't matter how much he made; he could live comfortably more than anyone I know.

"Fair enough," Nick nodded his head to this, before he spoke once more. "By the way, were you calling anyone in particular last night?"

"I...forgot who it was," I answered vaguely, hoping that Nick would drop it right then and there.

"Come on, Judy. You're better than this," Nick spoke to me with a hint of annoyance, using my name to drive home the point. "That's the second time you've lied to me today and very poorly I might add. Just tell me who it is. Maybe I can even help what's bothering you."

"...Alright, I'll tell you what's been bothering me," I took another deep breath, before giving Nick his answer. "Last night, I had a nightmare. I know it might sounds silly, but everything about it felt too real."

Suddenly, Nick stopped being annoyed, as I could see his expression softening up a bit. It almost looked…empathetic.

"Do...you want to talk about it?" he asked me, now sounding quite concerned.

"I'm fine," I insisted. "Besides, that nightmare wasn't that scary."

"Not scary enough for you to call my phone last night?" Nick pointed out the obvious to me...again. By now, I was becoming rather pissed off, mostly at myself, because I kept giving him ammo to keep pressing me.

"If I said I'm fine, I'm **FINE!"** Telling him why I was freaked out was one thing, but the last thing I want was for Nick to act like Dr. Dil McClaw.

Nick himself was taken aback by my sudden outburst, before he regained his composure from it shortly afterwards.

"...Alright Carrots, I'll stop pushing it," Nick dropped the issue altogether, much to my relief. I was just glad that my fur covered the blush on my face. The way Nick was interrogating me like I was a criminal was rather embarrassing and even though he had good intentions, it still didn't make it less stressful for me.

For a moment, there was a long silence between us in my apartment and neither Nick nor I said a word to each other. Considering my outburst, I don't blame Nick for feeling that way.

"Hey, looks like it's going to rain any time now," Nick remarked, breaking the silence and looking out through the window.

Likewise, I walked over to where Nick was and looked outside. Sure enough, it started to rain just a few seconds later.

"Looks like the weather reporter was right after all," I remarked, before I looked back at Nick, suddenly curious by his sudden appearance at my apartment. "Why did you drop by at my place so early in the morning?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were doing well after yesterday's crime wave spree," he answered. "Plus, after that call from last night, I couldn't get any sleep last night."

"I appreciate your concern for me, Nick, but really, I'm doing fine," I assured him, before I took another deep breath. I felt bad for giving Nick more lies, but at this point, I think I was getting back from bold-faced to be convincing enough to fool a toddler. "The same can't be said for my feet." I looked at my feet and recoiled in disgust. They were both wrapped in bandages with little red dots. I was going to need to change them soon.

"If you think that was bad, that's nothing compared to my poor wrist," Nick attempted to be funny by feigning a wrist injury. I chuckled a bit in response.

"I bet it was a real challenge going through all of that paperwork."

"It took me eight freakin' hours to finish all of it," he exclaimed, as if it was the most grueling thing imaginable, bringing a smile to my face.

"Not as easy as it looks now, does it?" I remarked back at Nick with a smug look.

"I really don't know how you were able to put up with it, Carrots."

"Well, I don't go through to an entire stack in a single day, Nick. I also don't do more than three or four in a day."

"I just hope Bogo would be pleased that I went through all of them," Nick said, sighing with exasperation. "The last thing I want is for him to throw a few fits if he even saw a few small mistakes on his precious paperwork."

"If that's the case, then I'll probably have to clean up your mess then," I joked.

"Well it'll be familiar territory then," Nick joked back.

I couldn't help but laugh out loud to this. What Nick said was technically true: I have been cleaning up his messes since we first met, but he does lend a helping hand with my own messes to make up for it in return.

"Alright, that's enough jokes at my expense for one day," Nick decided to change the topic out of the blues. "So, do you have any plans for today?"

"Not really, why?" I asked curiously to Nick.

"I was thinking that we could go out and hang out once the weather clears up. Rain's supposed to clear up around ten," Nick suggested.

I was about to open my mouth, but stop myself and thought about it instead. I could stay here and just watch TV, but that wouldn't last too long, as my neighbor's colorful commentary would just drive me up the wall. It was a miracle that they weren't listening to my conversation with Nick for once. But the part that made me hesitate the most was the nightmare. How can I just go about hanging with Nick like it never happened?

"If you don't want to, that's fine," Nick said, almost like he was bracing for disappointment.

"No, that's not it!" I spoke quickly. "I was just wondering what it was that you were planning on us doing," I lied for probably the eighth time this morning, but it wasn't some sort of big lie and I had already been racking up so much lies today, that I might as well go for a world record. I really was curious, though, as while Nick and I do hangout in town sometimes, we never planned any of our outings. We just did things like eat out at a restaurant or going to a movie on a whim rather than a plan.

That was when I noticed that Nick's disappointment was replaced by a smile on his face, as if he was pleased to hear my answer.

"Let's just say that the surprise will be much sweeter," was the answer he gave to me. "I would say, though, that we should meet up at the Carmice theater around noon, if you're fine with that."

"A movie? Sure, I don't mind," I replied back, before I realized something else. "What will you be doing until then, Nick?"

"I just have to pay someone a visit and take care of a few errands, Carrots. That's all," Nick answered.

Of course Nick was going to give me such a vague response. There had to be more to it, but I don't feel like pressing the issue much further, probably because Nick wouldn't tell me if he already knew the answer, so it was best to let it go for now and just go along with his plan.

"Anyway, I'll be going now and go easy on your feet too. The last thing you want is for me to carry you up on the stairs like last time"

"Right," I cringed, having to be reminded of my very sore feet. "Don't worry, Nick. I'll refrain from running and using the elevator, at least, until my feet heals up."

"That's more like it," Nick said to me with a smile and with that, he and I bid farewell to each other, before he left my apartment. As soon as he did, I suddenly realized what had just occurred.

"Did...Nick just asked me out on a date?"

* * *

 **A/N: I don't know, Judy. It might be one of those questions with no right answer.**

 **Hey guys, I'm back! Sorry that this took forever but I just recently got a job and it's hard balancing that and this at the same time. Also, Overwatch is fun.**

 **Anyway, I have responses to some reviews:**

 **Captainbunny: We'll be getting to that soon enough. It's just not something that needs to be done** _ **now**_ **. Also, please don't post links that I can't use. I know Fanfiction doesn't allow them but there are ways to get them to work. Like removing the http double dot backslash and putting a space between the website name and the dotcom.**

 **Jtdarkman: To quote South Park: "Whatever! I do what I want!" Also, get used to it. I do this so often it's practically a trait of mine.**

 **So with my new job in retail, things still won't be stable but I'll try as much as possible to sit down and write. Don't worry. I'm not stopping this.**

 **Let me hear all your opinions in the review section. I do read all of them even if I don't say anything back about them.**

 **Till next time, Sal out!**


	4. Totally a Date

**Ch. 4: Totally a Date**

Well...that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I was going to ask Judy if she wanted to go to the movies yesterday, but that plan went to hell, along with her feet. Judy has been psyched for this movie and she's been looking forward to it for weeks; we were going to show up at a critic and press showing and thanks to some connections, I managed to get two tickets for said showing today, way before everyone else. Judy may put up a pretty decent tough girl facade, but that's by necessity, considering our line of work and the shit she's been put through to get this far. I've gotten close enough to see the real Judy and she's really like a flower behind bulletproof glass. She's sensitive and empathetic and it's not hard to get to her and nowhere is that more apparent than in her choice in movies. We were going to see this apparently heartfelt and funny story about a sentient fish on an adventure called _"Finding Cory"_. I wasn't the biggest fan of animation and I'm still not, but Judy loves animated movies like a little kid would, along with romances, adventures...anything that give anyone "the feels" or a good thrill from, thanks to yours truly, a little bit of good old fashioned horror.

I'm hoping it'll get her mind off of whatever seems to be bothering her since last night. There's more she isn't telling me, but if it was something I needed to know, she would have tell me by now.

Who was she trying to call anyway? Besides me, Fru Fru and Clawhauser, Judy didn't have that many friends in Zootopia that she talked to regularly off-work…or at two in the morning, for that matter. She said she had a nightmare, so maybe she was trying to call her parents...or maybe it was I who she was trying to call and realized it wasn't a good idea. Either way, I still want to know what caused her to freak out last night; she sounded out of her wits, based on that brief conversation alone.

I was sitting in my green car in a parking lot near Carmice. Judy and I always meet up in this parking lot or parked here when we came together. It was about 11:45, so Judy should be arriving soon. I scratched my head roughly, trying to rack my brain around Judy's actions. Nothing made sense and that was a scary thought; I always assumed that I pretty much had Carrots figured out. I just have to find a way to break down this wall she's been putting up and to do that, I need to get her to relax and get her in a better and more talkative mood too.

*Tap, tap, tap*

I heard a tapping on my passenger window and saw two gray ears sticking out. I smiled, as I unlocked the passenger door for Judy and opened it for her.

"You're early, as usual," I quipped.

"I get bored sitting around without you," Judy snarked and I recoiled back in mock shock.

"You do care about my company," I joked like it was the most touching thing I've heard in a long time.

"I wouldn't have come on this date otherwise," Judy joked back, before she got inside and we both wait, as the theater didn't opened for a little while longer, although I was a bit surprised by her terminology.

"Date? I prefer to use the term 'hanging out'," while we joked about a lot of things, dating was something we never touched on, due to the fact we both suck at it hard. Judy has never been on a date before, as she was too busy with her career and she has almost no experience at it and I have a bad experience with it since I tended to not make it very far past the first date. Cynicism isn't a very attractive trait apparently, even behind the mask I always wore before. That and there's the very minor, almost inconsequential, thing that we both come from _two completely different species that have a very unhappy history!_ While it's not unseen, it's not exactly the most accepted thing, especially in Zootopia. Though now that I think about it…

"You got a better way to describe it?" as soon as Judy spoke up, I snapped back into reality and faced her. "You come into my home and ask to take me out to the movie. That's a date, Nick. Hanging out is sitting on a couch and making fun of bad sitcoms and cheesy soap operas."

"Alright fine, it's a date between friends," I spoke back as a form of compromise for Carrots. "Now come on, the theater should be open by the time we get there," Judy and I both exited the car and begin walking down the sidewalk towards the theater. "Now cover your eyes."

"Excuse me?" Judy looked at me rather perplexed when I made that comment.

"Trust me on this," I insisted.

"...Alright, I'll take your word for it," Judy relented and covered her eyes with her ears, just as I requested her to do so, before I led her to the theater. We got there after a few minutes of walking, but I wanted to make sure that poster was still where it was. Thankfully, it was stll there when we finally arrived.

 _'Perfect!'_ I excitedly thought, until Judy spoke up.

"Can I uncover my eyes now?"

"Just wait a bit longer," I replied, positioning Judy right in front of the poster, up close and in person. "Alright, now you can uncover your eyes."

Judy lowered her hand to let her ears back up and got a glimpse of what we were about to watch: it was the poster for Finding Cory, one of the most anticipated films of the Summer. The moment she saw that poster, she simply stared it and remain silent, not uttering a single word.

"Carrots, are you alright?"

The next thing I knew, Judy made the biggest squeal I have ever heard out of her, or from anyone else, for that matter. I even had to cover my goddamn ears to prevent a ruptured eardrum. She might as well break the nearest windows while she was at it.

"I'm...I'm speechless!" Judy excitedly tells me. "I've been looking forward to this film ever since I heard it's announcement! I didn't think it was true and the studio behind it takes a long time to even make one sequel to any of their hits, but now it's-"

Before she could ramble on any further, I covered her mouth as quickly as I could, shushing her right then and there.

"I thought you said you were _speechless_ ," I pointed the obvious to her, as Judy finally managed to calm herself down. Hearing her squeal was one thing, but hearing her ramble on and on was another. It's funny to watch the poster-bunny of the police force act likes she's a ten year old kid, but it's also kind of embarrassing to me as passersby gave us funny looks. I rather watch the movie in peace and quiet.

"Sorry," she apologized to me, before she gave me a confused look. "Wait a sec...Finding Cory won't be coming out in two weeks, Nick."

"Not unless you have these with you," I smirked, before I happily pulled out two tickets from my pocket.

"...Where did you get them?" Judy asked me, her eyes widened like saucers, as she stared at the two tickets in my hand. She then gave me an accusatory look as she spoke, "You didn't con someone out of these, did you?"

"Carrots, I'm hurt," I say in mock pain. She does have a right to be suspicious of me from time to time, especially considering I haven't completely cut off all ties to my past life and I'm still very much in touch with all my old skills, a fact she is still very much aware of. "These aren't just any ordinary tickets…" I explained with my patent winning smile. "These tickets are usually reserved for critics and journalists only."

"That still doesn't my answer question, Nick," Carrots deadpanned.

"I'm getting there," I assured her. "The guy who owns the theater was willing to give me two tickets for an early showing of Finding Cory. He was an old friend from my con-artist day and he happened to have a few spares. It was his way of saying 'thanks' for helping him out when he needs it the most. Don't worry, Carrots, they're the real deal."

"Alright I guess that checks out," Judy simply said, dropping her glare, before she perked up with happiness once more. "But still, this is the greatest day ever!"

"Man, you sure act like a kid sometimes," I joked at my friend's enthusiasm.

"I'm excited to see a movie two weeks early," Judy justified her behavior, before crossing her arms. "I don't have to act like an adult all the time."

"Fair enough, Carrots," I said with a chuckle. "Anyway, we should get our tickets ready."

"Let's," Judy agreed, before we both headed to the ticket booth and gave our tickets out to the manager.

"Hey, Andrew," I greeted him, before winking at him.

"Good day to you, Nick," Andrew greeted me, before he winked back and accepted the tickets Carrots and I gave to him. "I hope you two enjoy the movie."

"We will, sir and thanks," Judy thanked him, as we went inside the theater and made our way to the auditorium, where Finding Cory was going to premiere. Once we got in, though, it was filled with many critics and journalists alike, no doubt coming from every newspaper, social media and the sorts. Hell, some of them were even carrying notepads and pens, just like the old days. I could tell that they were all here to write a review about Finding Cory, two weeks ahead of schedule, but for me and Judy, we were just here to enjoy ourselves.

"This should have been expected," I mused, before facing Carrots. "Want to get something to eat and drink?"

"Sure thing, Nick," Judy replied, as she began to fish out her wallet.

"Don't worry, Carrots, I'll pay for them," I assured her, causing a surprised but thankful look to pop up from Judy, before we left the auditorium and straight into the snack lobby. Thank goodness there weren't many people around today and we didn't have to wait too long, as we got some popcorn and drinks very quickly, before I paid for them and went back to the auditorium, as Judy and I sat at two nearby empty seats.

"We sure got ourselves a nice view, huh, Carrots?" I remarked, before I glance back at her, as Judy had her eyes glued at the screen with excitement and clutching onto the popcorn and her drink like a vice, much to my amusement. "I'll take that as a 'yes' then."

Me, along with everyone else, locked eyes at the screen, before the first preview premiered; for what seemed like an eternity, we saw nothing but one preview after the other, most that won't be coming out until the Fall season and even some as far as next year. But after the last preview ended, the movie that we were all have been waiting for was about to start.

 _'Finally!'_ I thought to myself, relieved that the previews were over, while the murmuring around me and Judy died down and had their undivided attention at the movie, including myself...or so I thought. For some reason, I took a quick look at Judy, her eyes still glued at the screen, eating her popcorn happily and sipping on her drink occasionally; oddly enough, I feel rather...uncomfortable and weird just by looking at Carrots.

 _'Strange...this never really happen to me before,'_ it was the first time I ever felt like this and not in a funny way too. I tried to get my attention back on the screen, but I only saw bits and pieces of the movie every now and then; most of my attention was looking at Judy and only at Judy. Just a while ago, she remarked that we were on some date, but I insist that we were just hanging out as friends. The more I think about Carrot's remark, though, the more it sorta made sense now.

 _'Are we...really on a date?'_ I thought again. It never occurred to me that word would bother me like that. _'It's not official or anything, but hanging out as buds seems like the closest thing we have ever done. But still, she was the first person I really cared about in Zootopia other than Finnick and my parents. Well...the only other real friend I made and she was the first person who accepted me for me, instead of treating me with contempt just for being a fox, like those so-called scouts did when I was a kid.'_

I didn't know how long it had been since the movie started, but I looked back up at the screen for a moment and I was shocked to find that the movie's credit was starting to roll.

 _'Holy shit! Time really does fly!'_ before I could process this, though, I could hear Carrots stretching her arms and back, before she faced me with a smile. She must have been too focused on the movie to notice me.

"Finding Cory was definitely worth the wait! Did you have a fun time watching it, Nick?"

"Oh yeah, I enjoyed it from beginning to end," I nonchalantly replied, getting out of my seat and heading outside with Judy. Obviously, it was a lie, as I didn't see the entire movie, probably watched at least a total of ten minutes of it instead.

"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it with me," Judy said with a smile. I sighed with relief, happy that Judy didn't caught me lying on the spot. The last thing I want is for her to be disappointed in me. Even though I lied to her, it was better than not giving her an answer at all. Still, I felt bad that I have to lie to her face like that.

"So Nick, do you have anything else planned out for us?" Carrots asked me, as we headed back to my car. Suddenly, I could hear my stomach growling, as if it was waiting for the right moment to do so. Carrots could hear it too and started to giggle.

"I guess we can have lunch then," I sheepishly replied.

"But Nick, we ate at the movie theater," Judy pointed out, giving me a confused look.

"I didn't have much to eat back there, mainly because you ate most of the popcorn," I countered.

"Sorry about that, Nick," Judy apologized, as she scratched her head. "I didn't know I have such a big appetite."

"I bet you didn't," I remarked with a smirk, causing Judy to chuckle in response. "So...are you still up for lunch?"

"I would love to, Nick. In fact, I'll pay for the meal this time."

"In that case, I hope you can pay them at the most expensive restaurant then." I jokingly suggested.

"Don't push your luck," Judy responded with a frown.

"Someone's acting very stingy."

"Nick, I don't have that much money in my account," Judy reminded me.

"Then I know a good place where it's cheap, but the foods are great," I suggested to my friend.

"What's it called?" Judy asked, her ears perked up with interest.

"It's called Lyon's restaurant," I replied. "It's runned by Lyon herself and she has some of the best meals out there."

"...Lyon's a girl?" Judy was both surprised and confused by my last statement. "Why isn't she called Leona or something like that?"

"Beats me," I shrugged. "Something about her mother being weird. Though since she's a tomboy, it didn't bother her and she ended up using her name for the restaurant."

"If she's happy with it, then we can't judge her for it," Judy accepted my answer. "But it sounds like a nice place to go there, especially if a Mr. Picky Eater like you would enjoy it."

"For your information, I happen to have standards," I told Judy with a smirk. "It's just that mine are a bit higher than everyone's."

"I never consider you to be the standard type when it comes to food," Carrots spoke with amusement

"I just prefer to eat the foods that I cook for myself than anywhere else," I countered.

"I didn't know you can cook," Judy was surprised to hear that last part. "Can you really cook, Nick?" she asked, now interested in my claim.

I was about to answer her back, but I stopped myself at the last second. I thought about it for a moment, before I realize that I've never actually cooked something for Judy. Sure, this was partly due to the Night howler incident, but even after the last few months, I still haven't cooked her anything, especially when I invited her at my place now and then.

 _'Gee, I can't believe I haven't done something like that for Carrots before. Better late than never, I suppose,'_ I looked back at Judy once more, this time with a smile and a different answer.

"You know what, forget about Lyon's. We can go there another time. Instead, let's head back to my place and I can show you what I can whip up."

"Sounds good to me then," Judy agreed with a smile, wanting to see the master chef, AKA me, can do.

Now that we were in agreement, we both got into my car and drove back to my apartment. I don't know what kind of meal I can give to Judy, but as long as she enjoys it, that'll be good enough for the both of us.

* * *

 **Hooray! I'm not dead!**

 **So I'm not going to give any excuses, just going to say that I will attempt to post more often this year. That probably doesn't mean much but that's what my current plan is.**

 **Till next week, Sal out.**


	5. Nick's Surprise

**Ch. 5: Nick's Surprise**

Nick's place wasn't too far away, but traffic made it much longer than it should have. Despite that, we managed to arrive back at Nick's apartment in one piece. Unsurprisingly, the elevator was still broken (and according to Nick, the manager claims he'll have it _"fixed soon"_ ). I could only shake my head to this, as Nick and him got in another argument over it. Long story short, we took the stairs...again and just like yesterday, Nick had to carry me up on his back and up to his place, since my feet haven't fully recovered from yesterday's crime spree.

It was really weird. After that nightmare I had from last night, I thought I wouldn't feel safe around Nick for a long time, but being this close to him made me feel safe regardless, like I was in good hands. I didn't know how long we were on the stairs, but we eventually made it up to the eighth floor, as Nick put me down and we headed down to the end of the hallway, while Nick unlocked the front door and allowed me in first, unfazed from having to carry me up eight flights of stairs.

"After coming here for so often, this might as well be my third home," I noted. "Away from my family, but definitely away from those loudmouth assholes known as my next door neighbors back at my place. I can't stand so much as a few minutes with them."

"Well, I'm glad to know that my home is your haven," Nick was pleased to hear this and I could hear him closing the door from behind, before he made his way to the fridge. "Let's see what I got in here…"

"Do you need any help?" I asked him.

Nick stopped what he was doing, like he was lost in his own thoughts, before he faced me.

"I got this, Carrots. Consider this my treat," he insisted. "Just make yourself at home and feel comfortable."

"Alright then, Nick," I respected his decision and made my way to the couch to make myself feel comfortable, while Nick continued to look for some ingredients to cook from the fridge.

While Nick was preparing lunch, I took a good look around the apartment: it was rather spacious, with two bedrooms and one bathroom, a 40 inch flat-screen with surround sound in the living room and a mini kitchen, which was currently occupied by Nick himself for the moment. The walls in the apartment were painted with a nice red-orange color, almost similar to Nick's fur and it blends well within the room, from the counter-tops to the sofa I was sitting. But then, I just realized something…

 _'How does Nick afford such a nice place? We don't make that much,'_ I thought to myself. _'Could he have use some of the money he made back when he was a con-artist?'_

I look back at Nick once more, still wondering how much he had to pay to own such a nice apartment. I decided to put that aside for now, as there was something else I have in mind.

"How's your roommate hunt going?" I asked, while Nick pulled out a pan from the pantry and put it on top of the oven.

"I'm afraid it's a mixed bag, Carrots," he replied with disappointment "There was some that I thought seemed nice enough, until they made very ridiculous demands and the ones that didn't made a demand just rubbed me off the wrong way. Seriously, I find it ridiculous to give one of them my own room instead of the empty one next to it."

"...Oh," was all I could say back. I was quite worry for Nick about his search for a roommate. It had been a few months since he became an officer of the Zootopia Police Department and he still had no luck in finding someone to live with him. I guess even after the good he has done following the Nighthowler incident, it wasn't enough to convince some people of Nick's kind nature, expecting him to be someone he really isn't.

 _'I wonder if he'll find someone he can trust to be his roommate,'_ I thought to myself. _'Then again, he doesn't hang out with anyone other than me, Finnick and a few cops from the force, including Clawhauser. Plus, it takes a while for Nick to warm up to any strangers before he could trust them, so I understand why his search for a roommate is difficult. After all, he needs someone to trust. Someone like...'_

Once I realized what I was about to think, I just shook the idea out of my head in an instant. What I was about think...it's not what I had in mind. Not at all.

 _'No freaking way!'_ I thought to myself. _'After last night, I can't just ask to be his roommate. It'll just end up being awkward for the both of us, especially if I end up under the same roof as him!'_ I vowed to myself, just as Nick spoke, bringing me back to reality.

"Don't worry, Judy. It's nothing to worry about," he assured me. "As long as I make the payment on time, I'll be fine, with or without a roommate."

"How much is your rent anyway?" I curiously asked. I always wonder what it was and how he managed his money and now's the time to get some answers out of Nick.

"I spend just enough to stay here," he remarked. I raised my eyebrow and Nick and he sighed, before continuing. "All my bills added up to about $4000 last month."

"Alright then, how much do you make over a month?" I demanded, crossing my arms. That answer didn't felt good enough and it didn't help that Nick showed signs of hesitation when I asked this question.

"...Alright, I'll tell you," Nick took a deep breath, before answering my question. "I make around $4000 a month."

" **$4000 a month?!** " I was so shocked by Nick's answer, I nearly fell off from the couch, before I barely regained my composure. I can't believe Nick would pay THAT much for a month! "But that's enough to cover enough of your bills, including water bills!"

"I know it's a pain, but if I could afford it, then it's worth it," Nick insisted.

"But what about food and clothes?! You must have enough to pay for those!" I sternly pointed this out to him.

"I found a way around them," Nick replied, followed by a shrug.

"And what's that suppose to mean?" I wonder what he meant by that.

"That's simple…" Nick began. "I still have some money laying around from my con-artist day, so I'm not worry about getting broke."

"Yet…" I begged to differ. "You're not broke yet."

"It'll take me years before I'm worried about my bank account," Nick defended himself. "By the time that happens, I'll probably be up for a promotion. That and as long as I don't run into any more problems, I'll be good."

"For your sake, I hope so," I responded back wearily. "The last thing I want is to see you lose all that money in one fell swoop."

I can't believe that Nick would allow himself to be in such a risky position. Sure, he has money in his account now, but if he gets into any kinds of trouble, then he might be spending a bit more than he had planned and he'll end up in the streets before he knows it...not unless I do something about it.

 _'Maybe I should move in with Nick and keep an eye on him,'_ I considered the choice, but I suddenly felt a bad vibe about it. I could still remember every part of last night. _'On second thought, it sounds like a bad idea. What if it ends up...like my nightmare?'_

Now I'm stuck on what's the best course of action: helping Nick out or relying on my own instincts...AUGH! This is so frustrating! Why can't this be so simple for me?!

"Is something bothering you?" I looked back up and saw Nick staring at me with a concerned look on his face.

 _'I should worry about that later,'_ I took a deep breath, before answering his question. "It's just that...your lifestyle bothers me."

"I know it's not perfect, but I have to find a way to afford this place," Nick admitted. "Otherwise, I'll end up in an alleyway or at the worst parts of Zootopia. Once I find a roommate, however, everything will work out."

"If you're going to find a roommate, it has to be someone you can trust," I pointed this out. "Otherwise, you'll be left penniless."

"Why do you think I still don't have one?" Nick retorted. I couldn't help but feel a bit stupid of what I said earlier.

"Well…" it was all I could think of, before Nick spoke again.

"I get it, my situation isn't what it's all cracked up to be, but I've taken care of myself up until this point. Besides, I can tell who's good or bad just from experience alone."

Before I could say anything further, my nose suddenly took a whiff something very good in the air, as well as the cackling, sizzling noises from the pan, before I finally looked at what Nick was cooking up in the kitchen; to my surprise, it was…

"Vegetable stir fry," I noted, as I could smell the aroma coming off from the vegetable stir fry once more. "Wow, it smells really good."

"If you think it smells good, it'll taste even better once I add in the various spices," Nick quipped to me.

Suddenly, I wasn't so worried anymore. The smell of the vegetable stir fry was enough to calm my nerves down and I just simply sat on the couch, waiting patiently for my meal. I can't wait to have a bite out of it when it's finish.

"Your meal...is ready," Nick announced.

'It's about time!' I happily thought, feeling my stomach growling in hunger, wanting to have its fill, as I got up from the couch and headed towards the table to see Nick putting the vegetable stir fry on a plate and set it right in front of me, before setting one for himself and put it on the table.

"Dig in," said Nick, as he took a seat right next to me and I took a piece of the vegetable stir fry in my mouth. The moment I took a bite out of it...I haven't tasted anything this good since the last time I was in Bunnyburrow!

" **MMN!** " was all I could let out and I could hear Nick chuckling at my reaction.

"Told you so," Nick quipped at me.

"This...this is amazing!" I praised Nick, as I continued to chow down on my lunch. "You're really good at cooking. I'm surprised that you didn't took a job as a chef yet!"

"When was the last time you saw a fox chef at a restaurant?" Nick deadpanned. "Even if I wanted to, most chefs won't consider hiring a fox in their kitchen and they'll conclude that I might have some ulterior motive. Besides, you know better than anyone how much money I was making as a con-artist."

"Good point," I agreed. I have to remind myself that Zootopia wasn't the perfect place that I once imagined it to be and it still saddens me that there are some people out there who refused to change for the better. Thankfully, though, Chief Bogo is among those who is willing to change; the fact he gave me a chance to prove myself and allowed Nick to join the ZPD is proof of that.

"It's fine, Carrots," Nick assured me, as he took a bit of his vegetable stir fry. "I was only able to cook because my mom taught me. She didn't like the idea of her only son not being able to cook for himself."

"You're lucky to have a mom that can teach you to cook like a pro," I said with a smile.

"Aren't you a good cook yourself?" Nick asked out of the blue.

"I'm not a strong cook, but I know how to follow the directions and I got my mom to thank for showing me how to cook correctly."

"Did your mom felt overwhelmed having to feed that many rabbits?"

"If mom didn't have the help of my ten brothers and sisters, she wouldn't be able to feed the whole family," I replied.

"It must have been one big challenge to feed such a big family," Nick commented.

"I have no idea how she was able to pull it off, but she did it," I admitted, as I put another piece of vegetable stir fry in mouth. For a moment, I could hear Nick chuckling at my response, before he looked down on the floor, much to my surprise.

"I wish I have siblings when I was growing up. At least I wouldn't have felt alone back then."

I couldn't help but feel sorry for Nick. I recall the past he confided to me and I still couldn't believe that anyone in Zootopia were quick to judge Nick for his species alone. I was glad that my family taught me from right to wrong.

"It's nice to have siblings around sometimes, but they can be quite a pain," I consoled Nick. "They can be the best and worst of your friends rolled up in one."

"Kinda reminds me of how close I am with Finnick," Nick looked back at me, feeling a bit better. "Sure, we drive each other nuts, but we still remain best buds from the best and worst times."

"That's what siblings are suppose to be," I pointed this out.

Before we know it, we were laughing our heads off about it, all the while continuing to eat our vegetable stir fry, until it was almost gone, as Nick put whatever was left away.

"So Judy, do you want to take some back at your place?"

I pondered about this for a moment and although I was tempted, I'm good as it is and I didn't have any room left in my stomach anyway.

"I'm fine, but thanks," I politely declined and smiled.

Nick, for his part, was a bit surprised from my response, but simply shrugged it off like it was nothing.

"Do you still have any more candidates for your roommate hunt?" once I brought the subject back up, Nick let out an exasperated sigh.

"Not this again," is what I could hear muttering from Nick's mouth. "No Carrots, no one else has come to mind. Even Finnick declined the offer, but considering what he does, I can't blame him for it. Though if you're so concerned about me, you could always move in with me yourself," Nick offhandedly said, obviously not expecting me to take it seriously or to get flustered by it. Though, what I said next made Nick make the greatest face I've ever seen him make and if I had a mirror, it probably would have been the greatest face I've ever made.

"Would you let me?" I asked with a sheepish smile, as I rubbed my arm nervously.

As soon as I utter those words, we both looked at one another with shocks on our faces. I wasn't so sure who was more surprised: Nick being caught off guard by my question or me being stunned that I just blurted that question out of the blue. I wasn't actually being serious about it...it just came to me all of a sudden.

"...Are you serious about it?" Nick finally asked after a very long silence between us.

"I've been having some thoughts about it," was my answer to Nick. Thinking about it, I realized my apartment is a shithole and my neighbors were a bunch of loud assholes that have nothing to do but bicker with each other and stick their noses where they don't belong. When I'm at Nick's place, though, I can finally have some peace and quiet, even if it was for one day.

"I'm sure your place looks a bit...looks a bit…" Nick was suddenly fumbling with his words, which was pretty unusual for him to do. It looks like he was trying to make a joke, but couldn't get the punch line right. It sounds as if his throat was a bit dried and he sounded like his tongue was tied up.

"You were the one who offered," I reminded him, though he looked annoyed by my remark, "So…?" I asked, giving Nick enough time to think of my offer. After what felt like forever, though, he finally spoke back to me.

"There are so many things wrong with this I don't even know where to begin," I heard him say that under his breath, which made me feel uneasy, as he looked back at me with his answer. "Alright, you can stay, but for one week. If things works out well between us, I'll consider having you as my new roommate."

"Thank you so much, Nick!" I showed my appreciation with a smile and a hug. "Your place will be much safer with me around."

"A killer rabbit like you and a handsome cop like me would be a bit overkill for the undesirables living around here," Nick joked, as he chuckled to my reaction.

"They'll never even see it coming," I joked back.

"Our sparring matches together can attest to that," Nick remarked.

"Not to mention all the cases we've solved together," I added.

"In that case, let me take you back home, so you can get your belongings," Nick offered his assistance.

"I would love that very much," I appreciated his help. Once I get back to my place, I'll gather whatever I can carry with me and come back here. Once I'm done setting up my new living arrangement, I don't have to deal with those poor shitty excuses known as my neighbors anymore...and I could finally put my nightmare behind me.

 _'Nick is my friend, someone that I can trust,'_ I thought to myself. _'He's no rapist and whatever happened in my dream was just that...a dream and nothing more.'_

Whatever it was that happened last night, I am certain that it won't repeat itself last night. At least...that's what I'm hoping for.

* * *

 **Woo! I made a deadline!**

 **Kinda. The truth is this chapter was done last week but in the essence of setting a maintainable pace for myself, I held it back.**

 **Till next time, Sal out!**


	6. Outside Perspective

**Ch. 6: Outside Perspective**

Well...that could have gone a lot better. Against my better judgement, I was now letting Judy room with me for the next week. I told her I would think about letting her be my roommate, but the truth is, I wasn't going to do that. While I do think Carrots would be a better roommate than 90% of my other options, it was still _Judy_ , my partner, close friend and among other things, a woman that I'm not sure where my feelings lie. Carrots was pretty convinced I had asked her out on a date earlier and to be honest, it pretty much was one. It just felt awkward sharing the same living space with her, because I can't help but feel that this might turn out bad for both of us and we'll end up ruining something very important: our partnership, friendship and whatever else you want to add to the list, have basically become a possible casualty if this turns into a more permanent arrangement and it doesn't work out. The last thing I want is things turning sour between us, so the best thing we can do for now is to take things slowly and not take this to a weird place. After all, having Carrots as my roommate is nothing more than a "test" to see if this will work out for us for the entire week.

So we went to Carrots' place and picked out only what she needed to bring back to the apartment; I told her not to tell the landlord she was considering moving out, as nothing was official yet. While we were the, we could hear her neighbors in some sort of shouting match, each of them exchanging words as loudly as they could get. I've been in Judy's apartment for like a few seconds and already I don't like those bastards from the other side. Apparently, though, it was enough to motivate Judy, as she grabbed her phone charger and enough clothes for the week, along with her uniform, before she locked up her place and we headed back to my place.

The whole time, though, neither of us really talked. We said a few things when it was necessary, but there was no small talk, no banter, nothing else.

And I hated every single second of it.

* * *

After setting up Carrots' arrangement in the guest room, I looked at my phone to see it was nearing 10 p.m. I didn't have to be at work tomorrow until 8 a.m., but considering that we were in such a rush, it would be best to go to bed now. I was just happy that we didn't bring all of Judy's stuff up at my place; it would have taken up more time for both of us than it should have and there was no way in hell I was going to waste too much time for it, especially in a single night and with Carrots' feet still healing, I pretty sure she didn't want to either.

Once we were able to set up her living arrangements, I took a quick glance at Carrots and see how she was doing.

"So...feeling comfortable?" I asked Judy. Hey, it was the only thing I could think of and I wanted to break the silence between us after not talking to her during our drive back here.

"Oh, yeah, it's good," Carrots replied, as she gave me a quick smile to me. I wasn't so sure if it was genuine or forced, but I did got her talking, so there's that.

"That's...nice to hear," I answered back. It was still awkward, like my mind could see a bunch of possible things to say, but I just couldn't say any of them out.

"So…" Judy began to talk.

"So…" I talk back to her.

For a while, there was a pause between us...a very long pause, as we waited for one or the other to say something back. It seems like forever, but I spoke back to Carrots. The last thing I want was to have another silent treatment like the one we have in the car.

"Anything else that I can do before we hit the haystack?"

"...I don't think so, but thanks anyway," Judy answered.

"Are you sure?" I ask her once more.

"Don't worry, Nick, I'll be fine."

"Well, if you need anything, let me know," I suggested.

"Sure, I'll keep that in mind," Carrots agreed with me.

"Good night then, Carrots."

"Good night, Nick."

With that "conversation" done, Carrots and I bid our good nights and she prepared herself to sleep in the guest room, while I head back to my own bedroom to get some shut eye as well. Even though that "conversation" was quite awkward between us, it was better than receiving the silent treatment. I think that now that Carrots is actually going through with this, she's now starting to regret her decision; she was always a creature of impulse, but with her mind made up, she now can't seem to really talk to me. At least, I think that was the case.

 _'It wasn't much to talk about, but it was something,'_ I thought to myself, switching out of my attire and into my pajamas, before I started to brush my teeth, rinse my mouth with some mouthwash and laid down on my bed for the night.

"Another day in my life," I muttered to myself, before I closed my eyes and went to sleep, wondering how this week will turn out for me and Carrots.

* * *

It might have felt like eons, but I never slept this good in quite a while. It probably helped that the night was quite peaceful and I could barely hear anything. Then again, I, or rather we, are on the eighth floor in the apartment and the walls were probably too thick for anyone to hear someone shouting their lungs out. Regardless, this night might have been the most peaceful I ever have.

Or so I thought.

"Ah... please, no…"

My ears perked up for a moment, as I raise my head up and look around, wondering who said that, staying quiet just in case my mind wasn't playing tricks on me. It was just barely audible to me and considering the circumstances, I didn't even think I heard anything.

"Strange…" I said to myself. "I swear I could have heard something."

I waited for a few more seconds for another response, before shrugging to myself when I didn't hear anything else.

"It was probably nothing," I put my head down on the pillow, ready to sleep once more, until…

"Stay away from me!"

Once more, my ears perked up, but the sound was much louder than before, getting myself off the mattress and rushing out of the bedroom. Now I know for sure where it was coming from and it was much closer than I thought.

"Carrots, are you alright?" I worriedly asked, reaching towards the guest room's door and leaned towards it, just in time to hear her letting out a shout.

"Get the hell away from me!"

I stood in my spot, taken aback by Judy's shouting. What the hell was going on? Why was she acting like this at night? More importantly….is there someone with her?

"Hang on, I'm coming!"

I pushed the door as hard as I could and after a few more pushes, I force the door open and made my way into the guest room, where I saw Judy on the bed, her arms and legs flailing around like a little kid and looked very stressed out too, like she was being attacked.

"No! Don't get near me!"

"Judy, whatever it is, it'll be alright," I quietly assured her, as I turned on the lights in the bedroom and cautiously approached Carrots near the bed and put my hand on her shoulder to comfort her. At least, that was the plan.

"I said **NO!** Get away, Nick!"

Suddenly, Judy swung her fist at my direction, punching me around my left eye very hard, as I recoiled back by her surprise sucker punch. It felt like a brick was thrown right at me.

"Son of a bitch! That fucking hurts!" I cursed to myself, rubbing my face and feeling the pain coming off of it. I had to close my left eye from the pain. I look back at Carrots, still trapped in whatever dream she was in.

"Judy, you have to calm down!" I shouted, before I was forced to grab her arms to restrain her. Of course, this cause Carrots to flail even more.

" **NO!** "

"Judy, wake up!" I was practically pleading at this point, "I'm not here to hurt you! You have nothing to fear, so please, just wake up and tell me what's going on! I promise, I'll listen and understand you!"

Slowly, but surely, Judy stopped flailing out like a child and calmed herself down, as I let go of her arms, allowing my friend to compose herself, much to my relief.

 _'Thank god,'_ I thought to myself. Thank goodness I didn't manage to hurt Carrots in the process.

"Is that you, Nick?" Judy asked, before she looked at my face and saw that my left eye was closed from her right hook a second ago. "Oh my gosh, did I do that to you?!"

"Relax Carrots, this face have seen worst," I joked, attempting to lighten up the situation, even though my left eye was still stinging in pain.

"I'm so sorry about that!" she apologized. "It wasn't on purpose, I swear!"

"It's nothing to worry about."

"But I still hit you!" She looked like she was about to cry from guilt.

"Which is nothing to freak out about. I'm still alive and standing around."

"Again, I'm so sorry, Nick!"

"...Are you done now?" I did my best to give the patented Nick smirk, but with one eye closed and in a pretty large amount of pain, it wasn't very convincing. Eventually, she managed to calm herself down enough.

"Yes, I think so."

"That's good then," I said, before I became serious. "Now, what was that about? It sounds like you were afraid of me."

"Afraid of you?" Judy gave me a very incredulous look at me when I said that. She must not have known that she was screaming in her sleep.

"That's what it felt like when I try to calm you down. I put my hand on your shoulder and you hit me without a moments notice," I brought this fact out to Carrots, before I pointed at my eye.

"Oh...well, um…you see..." was all that Judy could mutter out. It was as if she didn't want to reveal what she was dreaming about. I want to help her out, but not with that little amount of information she was giving to me right now.

"If it helps, you don't to be specific about what happened in your dream. Just make it simple and easy, that's all," I assured her, hoping it'll ease Carrots a bit.

I waited to hear a response from her, but again, Judy didn't say anything back to me. It was like she was thinking of another way to avoid my answers at all cost. At this point, this seems very fruitless.

"Alright, I get it, Carrots, it's too personal," I spoke to my friend once more. "I understand if it's too soon to talk about it right now, but when you feel ready to explain your dream to me, I'm all ears and I'll do my best to understand you."

"...Thanks for understanding, Nick. I appreciate it," Judy finally responded after that moment of silence. For a while, I thought she was going to remain quiet for the rest of the night.

"Anyway, I'm going to get some sleep...again and I suggest you get some rest as well," I told Carrots.

"Will do, Nick and thanks again," she said, before she got back into her bed and tried to go back to sleep, as I left the guest bedroom and went to the kitchen to make an ice pack for my eye. I held it against my face for about ten minutes before I went back to my own bedroom to try and get some sleep as well, but not before I look back at the clock.

"Four in the morning already?" I asked in surprise, before I let out a heavy sigh. "I might be able to get two at the most."

My mind made up, I went back to sleep once again, trying to forget this unfortunate incident as best as I could.

* * *

I wasn't so sure if two hours had exactly passed by or not, but the alarm clock seemed to think so as it started blaring, forcing me up to turn it off. I let out a big yawn and got up from my bed, feeling slightly more rested. Still, I couldn't help but feel worry for Judy last night.

 _'What the hell was she dreaming about and how was I involved?'_ I thought to myself, getting out of my pajamas and changing into my police uniform. The swelling had gone down around my eye, but it still looked like I had my clocked cleaned not too long ago. _'Judging by her reaction to it, I'd say she was being attacked. I could just ask Carrots for specifics, but I doubt she's going to answer my question right off the bat. Besides, it was useless trying to pry any information out of her from last night anyway.'_

Once I was done changing into my police uniform, I took one last look in the mirror and saw the black eye still present on my face.

"Well, the boys in blue will have a field day when they see this," I chuckled to myself, before I left my bedroom and looked around in the apartment for Carrots, so I can bid her farewell. Since her feet hasn't fully recovered from yesterday's crime spree, she was going to remain off duty for the moment until she recovers.

"Carrots?" I asked loudly, looking around the place for her, but so far, she wasn't in the living room or in the kitchen and the bathroom hadn't been used either. "I guess she's still in the guest room then."

I walked over to the guest room and knocked on the door, waiting to get some response from the other side.

"Hey Carrots?" I asked once more.

"Yes, Nick?" she asked very groggily from the other side, an indication that she had just woken up.

"I'm going to head out to the station, so make yourself comfortable around here," I explained to Carrots.

"Oh, alright and thanks."

"No problem."

"Bye, Nick."

"Bye, Carrots."

After bidding my goodbye to my friend, I left the apartment and made my way down to the first floor...all the way down, as I still have to use the stairs and the goddamn elevator was not repaired. I swear, that landlord that runs the apartment was not fixing the elevator on purpose.

"One of these days…" I muttered quietly to myself, as I continued to head downstairs, but not before pondering about Judy's nightmare. It's one thing to have a bad dream, but to have one about me...that's another story altogether.

"How terrible could this dream of hers be?" I asked out loud. "Why does it involve me, though? I haven't done anything to Judy since we've first met and I won't do anything to her. Not now and not ever. I just want to know how to help her out and show her that whatever she was dreaming, it won't happen in real life."

I continued to ponder about this, but of course, there was no easy solution to this dilemma and I have to put it out of my thought for now. I can't let it cloud my mind while I'm on duty.

Before long, though, I noticed that I finally got to the first floor, much to my relief of no more stairs. I made my way out through the apartment's entrance and headed straight to my car, as I enter the driver's side and open up the glove compartment, pulling out a notepad and pencil to make a note on what to do.

 _'Note: find out what Carrots is dreaming and find a solution for it.'_

After jotting this important information down, I put both the notepad and the pencil back into the glove compartment, closed it up and start the engine up, before I drove off to ZPD, ready to start the my line of work for today. With the note written, I felt like I could finally put it out of my mind for the time being.

"Busting some lowlifes should keep my mind occupied," I spoke to myself, "I can figure out what to do about Carrots later."

At least then, I don't have to worry too much Judy's nightmare until I get back home.

I just hope it won't be as hectic as Friday's.


	7. Advice

**Ch. 7: Advice**

Darkness enveloped the room. I tried to turn and look around, but I found out that I couldn't move. No matter what I do, I laid motionless and stiff like a statue. I then felt a feel dread crawling up in the back of my mind and realized where I really am.

 _'No…Not again!'_ I immediately felt my nose start to twitch, as my heart was being filled up with fear. I looked around the room as best as I could, but I couldn't see anything. I couldn't even tell if I was even in the same room anymore. The more I tried to move, the heavier I felt, like something was holding me down; it felt like my arms and legs were shackled and bound by weights and my head was trapped in a vice. I eventually gave up trying to escape from invisible restraints through sheer force, before trying to think back to what ended the nightmare like last time. I was quickly pulled out from my thoughts, though, when I heard a sound at the foot of the bed; I saw a silhouette that was somehow darker than the unlit room around it, standing in front of the bed with little to no emotion. It didn't took me even a second to recognize who the silhouette belonged to.

 _'Nick! How did he get in? I locked the door! Wait... he did the same thing last time too...'_ The being then opened it's eyes to show the same green glow from last night, confirming my fears.

"Well, hello again, Carrots," Nick spoke with the same eerie, calm tone as before, though it did nothing to calm me down.

"Guess you couldn't stay away from me. Though I must admit that I'm confused," Nick began to circle around to the left side of my bed as he continued to talk. I could see him more clearly now and he was naked much like last night. "After what happened between us, why would you want to move closer to me? Did you actually enjoy it that much?"

 _'NO!'_ I tried desperately to move, to speak, to do anything to try and deny his claim. All I could utter out was a small squeaking noise; the more I tried to speak up, though, the heavier my throat felt. However, at least I know that based on his remark, I could confirm that it was only a dream like last night. Nick soon threw the blanket off of me, leaving me to feel only the Summer night air. He seemed to smirk when he saw that I was a bit more modestly dressed this time, wearing a light blue t-shirt as well as a pair of sweatpants.

"I see you at least covered up a bit, though you know as well as I do that it won't do you any good. This is my house and when you live under my roof..."

He grabbed the waist of my sweatpants and began to gently pull them off, though I still couldn't move to resist him. After he finished removing my pants and left me with my panties, he turned and looked at me with those orange, slit eyes from last time, before leaning closer to my face and whispering something to me that I probably could only hear, thanks to my long, rabbit ears.

"You follow my rules," He then grabbed the hem of my shirt, before starting to pull it up over my head, causing my arms to hit the side of the wall behind the bed, as I wince from the pain and casually threw it down on the floor. I could feel Nick's hand on me, feeling me up like before and causing my breathing to speed up.

"Let's see how much fun we can have this time," Nick spoke lustfully, as he began to kiss, lick and occasionally run his teeth along my neck, each action sending different sparks of pleasure, disgust, and fear, respectively. One of his paws found their way to my nipples, which caused my throat to utter a shriek of surprise from that action alone. Nick began to chuckle to himself, like he was proud of getting a reaction out of me, as he looked at my red-hot face.

"You look ready enough. Now for the second act," He spoke, followed by a sinister grin, as he moved down my body to between my legs.

 _'Ah… Please, no…'_ I would have begged if I could, but no matter how hard I tried, I uttered out nothing but frightened, nonsensical gibberish. It felt as if someone or something was squeezing my neck real tight around it. Nick just smirked at my futile attempt to speak, as he grabbed the waist of my panties and slowly lifted them off, my legs following upwards, until they were finally removed and landing down on my bed. Nick then held my panties to his nose and took a deep whiff of it, much to my disgust, before looking at my exposed and helpless body.

"Oh, you are most certainly ready, but I think we'll have to work our way up first," He chuckled at my last line of defense away, as he lowered his paw down on my legs, rubbing up and down them, before he got right above me and stared at me, as I felt his paw reached to it's destination of intent.

 _'Stay away from me!'_ I could feel one pad enter me, sending electricity up my spine and pulsating all over my body, as he gently fingered me. I shut my eyes from the pain, my face scrunched up more from the intensity. But without warning, one of my arms that had been weighed down all this time rocketed up and clotheslined Nick right off my bed. I could finally move at last! I didn't have a long time to process this, as a livid Nick jumped on top of me, now intending to feast upon me like the feral animal he has become.

"This could've been very easy for both of us, but now you want it rough? That's perfectly fine with me!" Nick tried to hold my arms down, but my legs were working just fine, as my foot hit him square in the jewels, sending him rolling off the bed into a wheezing pile of red flesh. I quickly jumped off the bed and over him, before trying the door. Much to my dismay, it wouldn't open, because I had locked it before going to bed. I didn't have the chance to unlock the door, however, as I heard Nick start to rise from the ground and glared at me.

"Get the hell away from me!" Nick started to chase me around the room, his arms raised up with his claws sheathed, his tongue sticking out and drooling uncontrollably, waiting to take a chunk out of me and he had the eyes of a crazed psychopath. Even though I was normally a better fighter than him, he was starting to overpower me. I resorted to some cheap moves that I learned to deal with much stronger opponents, allowing me to eventually force Nick off balance and flip him on his back. But this method proved ineffective, though, as he soon got back up, acting as if nothing happened.

"Oh Judy…" Nick began, shaking his head with bemusement, while I inched away from the crazed fox. "You're just making the inevitable even more worth it," he remarked with almost sadistic glee.

"No! Don't get near me!" I took up a defensive stance, before suddenly I heard Nick's voice...or rather, a different version of him.

"Judy, whatever it is, it'll be alright," His voice spoke with an echo and with a gentle tone, but it wasn't coming from the fox in front of me; that version of Nick, however, suddenly grew pale and looked as he had seen a ghost.

"Dammit! He must have heard your shouting! In that case..." Nick lunged at me, forcing me to try and fight him off.

"I said **NO!** Get away from me, Nick!" I shouted, as I swung my fist at his direction, squarely hitting him in the face head on.

"Son of a bitch! That fucking hurts!" I heard the two Nick voices synchronize with each other.

 _'What the hell is that?!'_ Nothing was making any sense at this point.

"Judy, you have to calm down!" Again, I heard Nick's voice coming out from nowhere, before the "Nick" that had been assaulting me shrugged off the hit and tackled me to the ground.

"I've had enough! No more foreplay! We're going right for the main course!" He lined his hard canine member up with me.

" **NO!** " I shouted with horror and fear, as I braced myself to be defiled by this monster...but it never came. I was still struggling against something that was holding me down, until I heard a familiar but friendly voice.

"Judy, wake up! I'm not here to hurt you! You have nothing to fear, so please, just wake up and tell me what's going on! I promise, I'll listen and understand you!" I opened my eyes to see a very concerned Nick was holding me down, only letting go of me once I stopped flailing, as I got a look at my surrounding. Nick was now fully clothed and so was I. More importantly, we were back in reality.

The nightmare was over...for now.

* * *

The next morning, after Nick left for work, I roamed the apartment, lost in my own thoughts. I was attempting to figure out the nightmare I had last night; it wasn't the same as before, but it was still terrifying regardless. I couldn't move, but then I could. I tried thinking of what caused it, but after a few minutes of this, I got nothing. I was only able to regain movement the moment when Nick disappeared. This time, though, the nightmare kept going and was only stopped when the real Nick woke me up from it. Why was I having a nightmare about another nightmare?

My head hurt just from thinking about it, as I had so little sleep and I was groggy as I've ever felt. I didn't even try to go back to sleep after what happened. I moved towards Nick's couch and just flopped onto it face first. I had to figure out a way of getting out of that nightmare on my own…or at least not have another one altogether.

I need some advice and more importantly, I need someone who could listen to my situation.

But I wouldn't have to tell them everything…just enough to get some help. I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my contacts, looking for anyone that I could talk to without making the conversation awkward and also anyone who was free to talk. I couldn't take it to my family about it, though; it they knew what I was dreaming about, things might get out of hand and they would get worried, especially if mom and dad got involved. I found Clawhauser near the top; Ben was free on Sundays, so he might be able to help. I clicked on contact to call him, half hoping he wouldn't pick up, so I could say I tried without actually having to go through with this.

On second thought, I might have made a mistake right there.

"Hey Judy, what's going on?" Ben spoke with his normal jovial demeanor, which brought a smile to my face. I'm starting to have less regret about calling my friend.

"Quite a bit, Ben," I tried to return a friendly smile to Clawhauser. "My feet are starting to feel better, but I may still be a bit weak tomorrow."

"Oh, don't worry too much about that. Chief Bogo already had a plan for that, so you wouldn't miss too much of work. He figured it might stress you out too much if you couldn't be a cop," I was surprised that Clawhauser already knew what Chief Bogo had in stored for me when I get back to work.

"How did you know that?" Ben gave me an uncharacteristically sly grin when he heard my reply.

"Girl, this is me we're talking about. I'm both dispatch _and_ Bogo's secretary all rolled up into one. I know everything that goes on in ZPD," I had to resist the urge to facepalm when I realized I forgot that Ben has two jobs at the police station. Who else would he tell?

"Anyway, are you busy right now?" I spoke, trying to be serious. He seemed to pick up on that cue, as he dropped his smile almost immediately.

"Not particularly. What's up?"

"I haven't been getting enough sleep lately. I've been having these bad dreams about me being unable to move and seeing…some bad things," I had to keep it vague. I couldn't say what really happened and I need to make sure that I don't reveal it to anyone. Not to my friends, my family or even Nick. Ben seemed to stop and think for a second, while I waited for a response from him.

"Was it like a dream where you were in your bed?" I nodded, as he continued. "And the more you tried to move, the heavier and intense everything became as some crazy things start happening?" I nodded again, becoming intrigued by his explanation. Ben then smiled, as he spoke again. "I think you're having sleep paralysis."

"Sleep paralysis?" I inquired. I have heard that term before, but I couldn't remember where I heard it from.

"You see..." Ben started off with his explanation. "When most people are in Rapid Eye Movement sleep, or REM sleep, they can't move so that they don't act out their dreams. Sleepwalkers are what happens when people don't have this. The effect, however, can still persist after REM sleep has ended or even before it has begun, so you can end up wide awake but unable to move. Simply trying to move would actually makes things worse, as the body gets more intense and you start to feel heavier," I was amazed by how much of this information made sense to me now and that Ben actually knew about this stuff. This was something I would never expect to hear from him at all

"How do you know all this?"

"I had a roommate in college who had these a lot and he would always like to rant about them, coming up with many methods to counter his sleep paralysis, though most of them didn't work. It's just one of those things I picked up from the cool people around me," Ben replied, as he shrugged.

"So how do I beat it?" I asked, eager for a solution.

"One of my roommate's methods that actually worked was scrunching up the face. They're the only muscles besides your organs that aren't paralyzed."

As soon as I heard this part, it instantly clicked for me. I thought over the dreams and realized that I was only able to move after my face started to reflex to what Nick was doing to me.

"I would careful though," Ben continued, "Now that you've had one of these hallucinations, you'll probably start having dreams about the same hallucination and the face scrunching won't be an escape method anymore," he spoke with a serious tone that filled me with dread, as I knew he was more accurate than he realized. I lost the fight last night and I would have been taken, if not for the real Nick waking me up. I was going to need to do more research by myself.

"Thanks, Ben. This will help a lot."

"No problem, Judy. Glad I could help out, though I would recommend talking to your parents. Sleep paralysis is thought to be hereditary," As soon as Ben made this suggestion, it reminded me that I probably first heard of the term from one of my family members. There was one more thing I had to ask.

"Is it possible to have sleep paralysis one night and be able to move while asleep the next?"

"Sure," Ben answered. "The paralysis isn't perfect, but it's rare to have it happen in such a short span of time, especially back to back. I take it you've already had a nightmare about the hallucination?" I nodded, confirming his question, before replying.

"I accidentally punched…a nearby wall last night, so I must have been flailing in my sleep," I lied. I hate doing that to anyone, especially to Ben, but I was afraid how he would react if he found out that I punched Nick's face last night. Like why I was at Nick's place to begin with.

"My roommate had that happen to him before, but only after suffering from sleep deprivation... or it could be genetic too. Have you been getting enough sleep before the hallucination?" No, I hadn't. Despite all appearances, I was normally running on average about five hours of actual sleep on a work day. My brain won't shut off when I want it to.

"Not really, no," was all I could say back to Clawhauser.

"Then get some sleep then, Judy. We really can't have an officer of the law running around without any sleep now, can we?" Ben then gave a warm smile that made me feel better.

"I'll try, though I won't promise success," I responded.

"Have confidence in yourself, Judy. You always wear it well. Anyway, I should probably go. I need to run some errands today."

"I'll let you go then. Thanks for everything, Ben," I waved goodbye to my friend, as he waved back.

"I'll see you to work tomorrow and you better show up with bright eyes and a bushy tail."

"You got it," I spoke, confidence renewed. The call ended and I admit that it was a good idea to call him after all. It was a lot to take in, but at least I knew where to start. I was going to have to figure out the rest on my own. I opened up my phone's browser and got to surfing the net, hopefully finding a solution to my nightmare dilemma before I have experience that nightmare all over again.

But at the very least, I'll try to prepare myself for the worst when that happens.


	8. Business As Usual

**Ch. 8: Business As Usual**

Ah, work. For once, I actually missed you. As I continued to drive off to ZPD, ready for another assignment, minus one certain rabbit, I couldn't help but feel relieved to go to work because at least I'll be distracted from what happened last night. Since Judy won't be working on the streets until tomorrow, I had to accept whatever assignments Bogo had for me. What they would be, I don't know, but anything would be better than sitting around the desk all day. Yes, even meter maid duty.

 _'What does Chief Bogo have in mind for me today?'_ I wondered about this, just as I saw my workplace right in front of me. Once I parked my car, I got out and made my way inside the main hall. I was about to greet Clawhauser at the desk, only to realize that he wasn't present this time. It didn't took me too long to realize why he was absent.

"That's right, he's off today," I mumbled to myself, before I immediately made my way to the meeting room, sitting on one of the empty chairs...one that was a bit big for my size.

"Good thing I got some extra space," I joked to myself and right on time, I saw my fellow officers arriving all at once, as they all took a seat; some were eating doughnuts and drinking coffees and others chatted among themselves, before Chief Bogo came in last and closed the door behind him.

"Alright everyone, settle down right now," the moment Chief Bogo made his presence known, everyone stopped talking and faced him like a flock of sheeps. "Now that I have your undivided attention, I want to announce that we have a new officer among us."

Everyone in the room, including yours truly, were surprised to hear this, not expecting to have someone in the police force today.

 _'I wonder who it could be?'_ I pondered to myself.

"AHEM!" Chief Bogo gruffly shouted, prompting everyone to become silent once more. "I know we're all excited to have a new member but we have work to do so moving on. I'm going to hand out today's assignments as usual," Classic Bogo. Though I understood why he did it as he expects the newbies to introduce themselves to others on their own.

As part of his routine, Chief Bogo began the grueling task of calling out names, along with their assignments and send them off to the streets. Normally, I would be paying attention to this, but I was still curious about our unexpected arrival. I looked around the meeting room, trying to spot a new face that I haven't seen, but when you have rhinos and bears taking up a portion of the room, that was easier said than done. Eventually, I gave up on finding this mystery rookie officer.

One by one, everyone in the meeting room got their assignments and headed out to the streets, slowly emptying the room; after what seemed like an eternity, the last officer, as well as his assignment, left the meeting room, leaving just me, Chief Bogo...and a fox? The light tan furred fox looked at Nick with bright blue eyes before grinning and waving at him.

 _'Well...this is something you don't see everyday,'_ I was both surprised, but pleased, to see another fox around ZPD. _'I guess she's the new officer Chief Bogo just mentioned.'_

"Officer Wilde…" I turned around and faced Chief Bogo. "Since Officer Hopps will be staying on the sideline today, I'm assigning you to a new partner until she makes a full recovery." He then motioned his head to the fox, not far from where I was at. The new partner thing didn't surprise me. What surprised me was his choice of partner.

"Wait, what? She must be something else if she gets to skip meter maid duty like the rest of the newbies." This was quite true for those joining ZPD; anyone who were fresh off from the academy have to perform the menial task that was meter maid, before getting down to the more serious assignments. Hell, even I have to do them a few times, before Chief Bogo allowed Judy and I to take on the more important cases.

"I was considering putting you both on meter maid duty, but I figure you were more suitable on patrol duty instead," Chief Bogo then smirked at me, which was unusually out of character for him. "I would have preferred Officer Hopps, but beggars can't be choosers."

"Yeah, I love you too, Chief," I countered sarcastically, before Chief Bogo, still wearing the same smirk on his face, got up from his desk and left, leaving just me and my new partner alone in the meeting room. I got up and walked towards her, hoping to make her feel welcome around here.

"Hey there, my name's Nick-" Before I could finish my greeting, the rookie officer suddenly rushed towards me like a cheetah and got up close in my personal space and I mean really close to me.

"OMG!" she squealed in delight. "I can't believe I'm finally meeting with the one and only Nick Wilde! I heard so much about you! How you started off, where you came from and how you ended up becoming a police officer! In fact, i joined the ZPD because of you and…"

Before I knew it, this fox was chatting nonstop like a hyperactive, coffee-crazed gerbil. She was talking so fast, I couldn't keep track of the many words she was saying to me. I put my paw on her forehead and gently pushed her back.

"I appreciate the compliments and all, but uh, could you give me some personal space?" I didn't know what else to say, but this was all I could muster up to calm her down.

"Oh, I am so sorry about that," the female fox sheepishly replied, as she backed away a bit, giving me my much desired space to move around and breath, before she cleared her throat up and extended her hand to me. "I'm Officer Sofia Swift, but you may call me Swift, Officer Wilde."

"It's nice to meet you, Swift, but you can call me Nick," I reached for her hand and shook it, just happy that she stopped fangirling around me seconds ago. She didn't noticed my discomfort moments ago, but maybe that was for the best.

"So, what are we going to do today, Nick?" Swift happily asked. "Are we going to kick some asses around the city or stop a robbery?"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves…" I began to explain. "I'm not so sure if there's going to be something like that happening today while we're on patrol. For all we know, it might not happened at all."

"Oh...um...alright then," Swift lowered here ears in disappointment.

 _'Oh boy, I ruined her expectations,'_ I thought to myself, before I spoke up. "If it'll make you feel better, you and I are partners for today."

"Oh yeah, that's right…" Swift's ears raised up in excitement. "I can't believe I'm partnered up with-"

"I'm glad to hear you're in a good mood, but we should get moving," I suddenly spoke up. The last thing I need is to hear another long winded speech. I'm tired as it is.

"Sure thing, Nick and I don't mind being on patrol duty with someone famous like you," Swift agreed and once more, she got too close to my personal space... _again_.

"You're not going to sniff me now, are you?" I quipped, causing Swift to blush and bashfully backed away.

"Sorry about that...again," she apologized to me once more. "I just got very excited back there."

 _'This is going to be a very interesting day,'_ I thought to myself, before facing Swift again. "Apology accepted, but we have patrol duty to do."

"Sure thing, NIck," Swift said with a smile, before she followed me outside, ready to perform her first day on the job.

* * *

After acquiring a key from the vehicle office, Swift and I headed to the available unmarked squad car, as I took over the wheel and we both drove off into the streets, starting our patrol, searching for anything out of the ordinary.

"I'm not going to lie, Swift. This will probably be boring as shit," I informed her.

"Thanks for the heads up, Nick, but it won't be totally boring with you around," Swift spoke back to me.

"Glad to know that I brighten up your day," I said, before curiosity came over me. "Why did you really want to join the ZPD?"

For a moment, Swift said nothing back at me and remained silent. But then, she looked at me and finally gave me her response.

"When I was kid, I always wanted to be a hero, helping out the little guys that can't help themselves. But whenever I told others about this in the neighborhood, they would always laugh at the idea of a fox doing good deeds, claiming that foxes aren't suppose to be heroes, like it was some big joke to them."

I then noticed that Swift looked down and for a while, it looked like she was about to tear up just from mentioning her past.

"I know that feeling all too well," I said to her, as the memory of the Junior Ranger Scouts was one of the most traumatic moments of my life.

"Still, I didn't let them hold me back and I still continue to help anyone out, whether they appreciate my help or not," Swift continued. "But then, I heard about the Night Howler incident that took place and how you and Judy were able to solve it before things could have gotten worst. Because of your actions, it convince me to join the ZPD and do some real good around Zootopia."

"That sounds like a good reason to me," I said with a chuckle. "But I'll admit, I was surprise to see another fox joining the police force instead of another rabbit."

"Actually, there was a rabbit that I knew of back in the academy, but I'm not so sure which division he ended up in," Swift explained.

"Whichever division your rabbit friend is, I'm sure he'll do fine," I assured Swift.

"I hope so."

"I hope so too," I was glad to give her some peace of mind about this.

 _"Officers, we have a 10-10 V on 12th Ave, over,"_ Both Swift and I turned to the radio that was sending out the all points bulletin seconds ago.

"Sounds like we're nearby," I noted, as Swift pulled the receiver and spoke back to the dispatcher.

"This is Officer Swift, dispatch. Please respond, over."

 _"Officer Swift, you and your partner must keep an eye out on an outdated red Drof model with a busted fender. We need the plate number ASAP, over."_

"Roger, dispatch. We'll keep an eye out for this particular car, over," with that said, Swift hung up and faced me. "So, how did I do?"

"Not bad at all, Swift. Nice job right there," I praised her.

"Thank you, Nick," she said with a happy grin, while I performed a way up.

"Based on what the radio dispatch described, it's most likely just a car that's been parked out for a few days."

"So what do we do when we find the right car?"

"Simple, Swift…" I began. "We just to act natural and not raise too much suspicion. The last thing we need is for the perp to know we're on to them. If they're even a perp to begin with."

"Sounds simple enough," Swift understood my instruction, nodding her head, before we both act casual, searching for this particular car that radio dispatch mentioned. Several minutes would passed by and for a while, the car we were looking for didn't show up...that was, until we spotted the car parked on the side of the road. I pulled over behind it a little down the road, close enough to take a picture, but not too close so that they would instantly see me if they came out.

 _'There we go,'_ I thought, as I pulled out my smartphone, zoomed in onto the license plate and with one click, snagged a photo on that particular license plate. "That'll do nicely," I said with a smirk. "That was easier than I thought."

I then pulled the receiver from the radio and spoke to dispatch.

"Dispatch, this is Officer Wilde, over."

 _"Go ahead, Officer Wilde, over."_

"We have your plate. It's 87UI90, over."

 _"Running license plate, over."_

Swift and I waited patiently for dispatch for a response; after a few minutes, we finally heard back from dispatch.

 _"The car belongs to Greg Fangs, a grey wolf with a warrant for armed robbery in the Sahara Square district, over."_

"Understood, over."

 _"If you and your partner are going after Greg Fangs, please take caution. He is considered to be armed and dangerous. We'll also alert the Sahara Square district police, along with another team, for investigation, over."_

"We appreciate the help, over," we both hung up, before I faced my partner.

"So what are we going to do?"

"We'll have to wait until they show up," I replied back, much to Swift's surprise.

"Why can't we just arrest Greg right now?"

"We can't just go march up towards our suspect and tell him that he's under arrest. The moment he sees us, he'll do anything to get away from us, including endangering a lot of people around him. That and we have no idea where he'll go or which building he'll end up at."

"...Gee, I didn't thought of that," said Swift, rubbing her head with embarrassment.

"Training camp is a lot different than the real world. Anyway, let's take a good look on Greg Fangs," I went over to the car's computer and typed in his name, as we waited for a match in the database. Eventually, we got a hit, as the database revealed a bit more about who we're dealing with, as I pulled out a mugshot from it.

"Looks like he happens to be a repeated offender."

"Meaning…?" Swift asked me with uncertainty, causing me to sigh. This girl I swear

"Meaning that this isn't the first time he had a run in with ZPD and probably has done this many times before."

While I was mentioning this, Swift looked down the street and was looking towards at something...or rather, someone.

"I think that's him," I looked to where Swift was pointing, and sure enough, way, _WAY_ down the road, like a hundred feet down the street, was the wolf we were looking for: his long muzzle sticking out, with grey furs all over his body and his clothes looked like they haven't been washed in weeks. I don't know how she saw him from that far away, but I wasn't not complaining. Without even hesitating, I forced Swift's head down, before I lowered my own head as well. The last thing we need is for him to recognize us as cops. We poked our heads up just enough to see Greg approaching the car, as I quickly reached for the receiver from the radio.

"Dispatch, Wilde here, suspect is about to drive off. Request permission for pursuit."

 _"Request granted. Please be advised not to take eyes off of the suspect and don't alert him of your presence either."_

"Understood, over and out," We both hung, just as I looked up and saw that Greg was about to get inside...but did something unexpected: he ducked into a nearby alley.

"Shit!" I cursed myself, as Swift and I got out of the car and pursue him to the alleyway.

"Where do you think he's heading?" Swift asked me.

"Hopefully to a dead end," I answered.

We continued to pursue Greg, keeping a safe distance between him and us, before he turned to a nearby corner. Sensing something was wrong, I stopped dead in my tracks, with Swift stopping a few seconds later.

"Swift, call in for backup. Don't ask why, just do it. I'll go after Greg and make sure he doesn't flee."

"...Alright, Nick. Be careful out there," she pulled out her radio and began to call for backup, while I made my way further down to the alleyway and turned to a corner, continuing my pursuit of Greg as cautiously as I could. Eventually, Greg turned to another corner and I took the same path as well, only to be met with a clothesline instead, knocking me down to the ground.

 _'Goddamit! Did I seriously just fell for that?!'_ I thought to myself, as I looked up to see Greg walking towards me, but I doubt it was to help me get up on my feet. I quickly got up to my feet and kept a good distance between Greg and myself.

"What do we have here?" Greg coldly remarked, licking his lips. "I'm going to enjoy eating some fox meat."

"Sorry, I'm off the menu," I quipped back at him, before getting into a fighting position.

Greg howled and lunged at me, teeth and all, as I scrambled towards my right, dodging his attack, before I took the chance to slug his nose, leaving him in a daze, allowing me to punch his ugly face a few more times. I could tell this was annoying Greg, as he unsheathed his claws and tried to swipe me with them. Thankfully, my nimble body allowed me to dodge his claws with ease and I'll admit, I was enjoying myself. But then, Greg suddenly stopped what he was doing and pulled out a knife instead. Talk about an unfair fight. I would've traq'd him, but I didn't have enough distance to get it out and fire.

"Try to dodge this, copper!" Greg exclaimed and rushed towards me.

"Whoa!" I yelped, before I backed away as fast as I could. However, I wasn't fast enough, as Greg managed to plunge his knife deep into my uniform. I could feel the sharp tip of the knife trying to dug into my body, but fortunately, I was able to avoid any serious wounds, even if I did ended up with a small cut.

"Not so tough now, are you?" Greg mockingly asked, before he rushed towards me with his knife again. This time, though, I anticipated his move and by some stroke of luck, I managed to catch his arm and used all of my strength to disarm it.

 _'Jesus! He's a lot stronger than I thought!'_

Suddenly, I felt something sharp down on my shoulder; soon, the pain intensified, as I looked to my left and saw Greg biting down on my shoulder very hard.

" **AUGH!** " I shouted, as I felt his fangs digging into me.

Just as the pain was about to get worse, though, I suddenly, felt his bite starting to loosen up and released his hold on me, as Greg was backing away with a dazed look on his face.

"Sleepy…" I heard him muttering, before he collapsed to the ground, snoozing off into dreamland, as I noticed the dart sticking out of his ass.

"Nick, are you alright?!" I turned around and saw Swift behind him, holding a dart gun in her hands, no doubt that she was the one who tranquilized Greg.

"Just got a bite mark that hopefully I didn't just get a disease from and a cut on my uniform, but otherwise, I'm peachy," I answered back with just a hair of sarcasm. Swift seemed to notice this right away.

"Damn, wish I got here sooner," she started to blame herself.

"Don't sweat it, Swift. I'll be fine once we get to the hospital," I assured Swift. "But first…"

I motioned my head to Swift towards to the unconscious Greg, who nodded her head and pulled her cuffs out, approaching the sleepy wolf and cuffing his arms, before dragging his ass behind us as we made our way back to our squad car, just as I spotted backup finally arriving at our location.

"Did they send them from Tundratown? What kept them?" I remarked at how long it took them to arrive.

"They sure took their sweet time to get here," Swift said with an unimpressed tone

"This happens sometimes, but they mean well," I told her, as Swift hauled the unconscious Greg and threw him in the backup squad car like trash and we both went back to our squad car. Since my arm was badly bitten, I took the passenger's side, while Swift took the driver's seat and drove off to the nearest hospital.

"He sure bit you up," Swift noted, clearly worried for me.

"With some rubbing alcohol and stitches, I'll be in good shapes," I assured her. "Thank goodness it wasn't my good arm."

I couldn't help but laugh at my own remark, before I cringed from the searing pain.

"Nick, just be glad you have an arm at all," Swift said and turned to give me a serious look.

 _'Geez, she has that same look Judy gives me,'_ I thought, seeing as how similar it was whenever I wasn't taking things too seriously. I sighed at the sight, before I spoke back to Swift. "I appreciate your concern and thanks for saving my ass back there."

As soon as I said this, Swift's face soften up a bit, followed by a smile.

"You're welcome, Nick. I'm just glad you're alright."

With that, we remained silent for the rest of the ride, as we made our way to the hospital, while I reflect on what just happened.

 _'I guess it's another crazy chapter in my life. I hope Carrots' day is faring better than what I went through.'_


	9. Reassurance

**Ch. 9: Reassurance**

It felt like one of the most boring days I have ever had and since I won't be back to work until tomorrow, I have to do something other than laying on the couch, watch TV or use the computer all day. Good news, though, is that I took a good nap, thanks to Clawhauser's advice and talking with him made my day a bit better as well. Plus, since I have so much free time, what better way to spend it then try my hands on cooking?

I'll admit, I may not be the biggest cookbook, but at least I know my way around a stove, so I looked around the apartment to see what I had to work with; after turning the place upside down, I found enough to make something we could both enjoy: spaghetti and garlic bread. Since Nick was going to arrive back home from work soon, it was time to show him what I could do.

Drawing on all of my knowledge from helping my mother out, I spent an hour or so prepping up our dinner, making sure I was boiling the noodles correctly, as well as having garlic on hand for the bread and getting the tomato sauce just right. Slowly, but surely, everything was starting to come together, as the noodles were starting to loosen up, the tomato sauce was liquefying at the right temperature and the bread wasn't overcooked. I took one whiff of what I cooked; the moment I smelled my own cooking, I knew I got everything right, as I could feel myself drooling in hunger.

 _'Oh man, I **SO** want to taste this right now,'_ I thought to myself, as I could hear my stomach craving for it, before I looked at the clock and saw a few minutes left on it. I giggled with excitement, as I know Nick was going to show up any minute now and I can't wait to see how he reacts to my cooking.

"Hey, Carrots," I heard Nick's greeting, as I turned to see him coming into the apartment and closing the door behind him, as well as sniffing the air and smiled. "Something smells good around here."

"Wait till you taste it," I remarked.

"I take it that you're trying to one up me in the cooking department?" Nick amusingly asked.

"Since I can't be on the streets for a while, I have to try something else to do until my feet are good to go."

"You've only got one more day. You'll live," Nick pointed this out, as he took two plate from a nearby cupboard.

"Yeah, that's true," I sheepishly rubbing my head in realization, before Nick handed me a plate served some spaghetti and garlic breads for both me and Nick and took them at the table. Nick looked at his meal curiously and took a bite of a few spaghetti and the garlic bread. The moment he did this, he gave me his signature smirk.

"I've had better."

"Ha, ha," I realized that he was messing around me as always, letting out a fake laugh and helped myself to my own cooking and smiled. This spaghetti is so good and so was the garlic bread!

"I gotta say, Judy, I'm surprised you didn't put some carrots with the spaghetti," Nick noted.

"I wasn't so sure if you wanted carrots or not, so I choose a meal we can both try together," I admitted.

"I don't mind too much," said Nick, before he smirked again. "I'm just giving you crap," I couldn't help but chuckled at his quip.

"Well then, I'll just have to give you crap back."

I then noticed Nick looking down at his food with wide eyes, before looking at me with the same stare. I rolled my eyes, though, as I know what he was up to.

"Not like that," I proceeded to bop him on the head and we both ended up laughing afterwards.

"This is actually really good, Carrots," Nick smiled, before he resumed with his meal.

"Why thank you, Nick," I answered back with my own smirk, before realizing what I was doing. _'Strange, I never thought I would be this comfortable around Nick again. Part of me still fears him, but not as much as the previous nights. Maybe this would work out after all.'_

"Ah, dammit," I was snapped from my thoughts and turned to see that Nick accidentally got tomato sauce on his uniform.

"Do you need a bib, Nick?" I jokingly asked.

"Nah, I can lick the sauce off," Nick replied, sticking his tongue out.

"Nick, don't be gross," I spoke with bemusement.

"Ah Carrots, you never let me have fun," Nick said, acting as if his feelings were hurt, but I can tell he was faking it.

"Nice try," I said, crossing my arms with amusement.

"Alright, alright, you got me," Nick playfully said, as he took off his uniform and...oh my god! Are those bandages on his shoulder?!

"Nick, what the hell happened?!" I gasped in shock from the sight, as Nick heard my gasp and looked at his shoulder, liked he had forgotten it was there, before facing me, as he rubbed his neck in response.

"Oh that...I was trying to apprehend a suspect today and left me a nasty surprise. He sure has a good bite, though," Nick explained, followed by a chuckle.

I didn't respond back and just looked at Nick. How could he say something like that so casually after dealing with something dangerous?

"Nick, this is serious!" I shook my head disapprovingly. "You could have lost an arm if you weren't careful!"

"The uniform was thick enough to absorb most of the bite, Judy. It wasn't very deep."

"You still need to be careful, Nick. You might not be so lucky next time," I then realized Nick couldn't have been the only one present when this happened. "Did you have a partner with you?"

"Of course I did," Nick's answer was rather vague and of course, I wasn't impressed.

"Okay who?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It was a new recruit named Sofia Swift," it still wasn't the answer I was hoping for, but it was better than nothing. Regardless, I was worried for Nick's well-being. He shouldn't have been that careless.

"Judy, there's nothing to worry about. I'm still here, with both arms attached to me and that's all that matters," Nick explained to me.

"How long will you be out until you're back in the field?" I asked.

"Just tomorrow. After that Bogo says I can come back in,"

"How's he doing?" the moment I heard the chief's name, I just have to ask Nick about him.

"He's fine, though he did yelled at me for being reckless, so there's that," I chuckled at that last line, knowing how Chief Bogo behaves to any of his officers if they aren't careful.

"That sounds like him alright, though he's probably exasperated at both of us, since we got hurt around the same time. He's probably afraid that we're a liability, though I can tell he doesn't mean it," I informed Nick, who just smirked.

"That's true right there, since no one fills cells like us," Nick nodded in agreement, while resuming with his meal once more. Though I just rolled my eyes at the last bit of it. "I know he means well, but he always has that poker face that takes a long time to chip away and see the guy underneath."

"Agreed," I simply said, continuing to stare at Nick's bandaged up shoulder, before I noticed Nick suddenly stopped eating and noticing my stare.

"Is something wrong, Carrots?"

"It's nothing, I swear," I tried my best to assure him.

"Yeah, I noticed you were staring at my shoulder every five seconds."

 _'Damn, he caught me...'_ I thought, chastising myself for not being careful. I sighed and came clean with him. "Alright Nick, you got me. I just felt bad for not being there for you today."

Once I admitted to this, Nick looked like he was lost in his own thoughts for at least a few seconds, before he faced me and replied back.

"Judy, if you had been there at the time, you could have been the one that got bitten instead."

"I know, Nick, but I could have at least prevent him from biting you, even for just a few seconds."

"That's not what I meant, Carrots," Nick felt otherwise, shaking his head. "I would have been the one calling for backup because you're faster in a run then I am, you would of had to chase that asshole and you would lost more than an arm if he gotten a hold of you."

All I can do is sigh and admit that Nick had a point: if I had been with him today and tried going after the criminal myself, I would have been the one in danger.

"Look Judy..." Nick said, looking at me with sympathy. "All I'm saying is that there was nothing we could have done differently in the heat of the moment, especially if we were up against a wolf lunging at you with a knife. What's done is done and right now, we should finish eating and focus on getting better," he suggested with a smile. "Besides, I think you got some potential in cooking."

"Thanks Nick, I appreciate that," I smiled back, accepting my friend's words, before I resumed eating my spaghetti and garlic bread with him.

* * *

After dinner was finished, we both put the plates in the sink and hopped onto the couch to watch the TV for something good to watch...or not. Right now, we were watching some "horror" movie about the undead, but so far, there were so few scary parts in it; in fact, everything about it was quite boring. Still, we have each other for company, so watching this is so-called horror movie wasn't _entirely_ boring for the moment.

"Nick, this movie sucks. Why do you own it?" I mumbled as I was laying down on the couch.

"I honestly don't remember..." Nick was resting his arm on the couch arm. We sat with the only sounds being from the TV and the passing traffic outside.

"So Carrots, will you be fine going to bed after last night?" Nick looked at me as he suddenly asked.

"I think I'm good this time," I assured Nick.

"Are you sure? Last time I had to check up on you, I got a black eye for my trouble."

I rubbed my head in embarrassment for what I did to Nick last night. It wasn't done on purpose or anything, but I was too scared to realize what was happening. I took a good look at Nick's face and noticed his black eye was barely noticeable.

"If you're wondering why I don't have my black eye, that's because I put some ice before heading back to work," he explained to me. "Anyway, are you sure you'll be fine on your own?"

"Of course, Nick. I have it under control now," I insisted once again.

"And you have it under control, how?"

"I...had some help," I vaguely answered.

"...From whom?" Nick was starting to become intrigued. I sighed and answered his question.

"I got help from Clawhauser."

"Clawhauser helped you out?" Nick was surprised to hear my response. "What was he helping you out with?"

"I was suffering from sleep paralysis two nights ago and after that, I was also having a nightmare about sleep paralysis."

"That explains your behavior last night," Nick commented.

"Fortunately, I took a long nap in the afternoon and it helped me out. No nightmares then,"

I looked at Nick, who was raising both eyebrows and I could tell that he wasn't convinced by my claim. At the same time, though, he didn't argue with me about it either. I guess he didn't have anything to argue at all.

"We'll just have to wait and see how tonight turns out," he simply said.

"Sounds like a plan," I agree, as I didn't want to argue back with Nick as well.

* * *

For the next hour, we continued to watch the so-called "horror" movie we ended up watching, mocking the cheesy effects to the obvious shitty decisions the characters made in order to survive. Eventually, though, the movie came to an end and it was time for us to get some rest as well.

After we brushed our teeth and switched into our night clothes, we both bid each other a good night and went to our bedrooms. As I closed the door behind me, I took one look at the bed in front of me and let out a deep sigh.

"Here goes nothing," I muttered to myself.

I hopped onto my bed and waited to go to sleep. After a few minutes, I felt something was wrong: I wasn't sleeping. I was just laying down on the mattress half asleep, but also still awake at the same time.

 _'I can't test anything if I don't sleep. Why can't I sleep?'_ I thought to myself. I couldn't really understand why but maybe I was afraid. Afraid to sleep.

I continued to toss and turn around my bed, trying to find a spot that I felt comfortable to sleep through, but no matter what I do, nothing was working. After doing this for what felt like ages, I looked back at the clock and it was...

"Three AM?!" I shouted. I couldn't believe time flew by that fast. I didn't even slept for a single damn minute. I sighed in frustration and stared at the ceiling, before I came to the realization: my afternoon nap threw off my sleeping schedule. I took a deep breath and simply got up from my bed.

"Even if I fell asleep now, it's not worth it," I looked at my police uniform that was hanging out in my closet and grabbed it, taking it with me to the bathroom. After undressing myself, getting into the bathtub and turning the nozzle on, I could feel the water drizzling me from head to toe and I started to slowly relax, forgetting about my frustrating attempt to sleep.

 _'This is more like it. At least when I get back to ZPD, I'll be a new rabbit.'_

I then looked at my feet and examined them closely. They were still sore from that freaking crime wave, but the cuts were all healed up, so they don't looked completely bad. Still, I was disappointed that I won't be back on the streets, but after what happened, it's best if I didn't have history repeating itself.

Once I finishing cleaning myself up, I turned off the shower, put on my uniform and brushed my teeth, before heading out of the bathroom, only to spot Nick suddenly right in front of me.

 **"GAH!"**

For his part, Nick just stood and was just as shocked as I was, or rather the way i reacted to him. I calmed down enough to realize that I was getting scared over nothing.

"That's right, I'm staying here for a week," I reminded myself.

"Sorry for scaring you out of your pants, Carrots," Nick apologized. "Are you carrying any luggage in the trunk?"

"Ha ha." I rolled my eyes at his toilet humor before pulling myself to my feet. "Sorry about that, but I didn't expect you to be on the other side of the door."

"Fair enough," Nick simply said, before rubbing his eye. "Anyway, what are you doing up so soon?"

"I couldn't fall asleep…" I began, as I step out of the bathroom. "I tried to get myself to sleep, but nothing I did worked, so I just gave up and tried to make the most of it."

"You sure you want to remain awake for the next few hours?"

"It's kinda too late now. I'm wide awake."

"If you say so, Judy," Nick accepted my answer, even though he found it strange, before letting out a yawn. "I'm going to back to bed,"

"Alright then," I said, nodding my head. "Pleasant dreams,"

Nick smiled and nodded his head back to me, before returning to his bedroom, leaving me on my own around the apartment. I pulled out my phone and shrugged.

"Might as well do something while I'm awake," I opened the web browser and began to aimlessly search, looking up at any random words I could think of, watching a few stupid videos. Nothing too specific, but just something to get my mind off things.

But at least I've got something to beat the boredom.

* * *

For three long hours, I did nothing but searching up anything that can I look up on the web. There were some with good results and others...were less than pleasant to remember. Eventually, I looked at the clock in the kitchen and saw that it was a little past six. Looks like searching random crap really paid off.

"Guess it's time to really start the day," I mumbled, getting off from the computer and went to the kitchen, helping myself to a bowl of cereal. After finishing that up, I saw the car keys to Nick's car laying about on the coffee table right next to the front door, as it was a sign of not letting me to use the train or any other transportation for that matter. Before I head out, there was one thing I have to do first.

 _'I'll need to check up on Nick first and make sure he doesn't mind me using his car,'_ I went to Nick's room and knocked on the door, before speaking up.

"Nick, I'm going to borrow your car today. Hope you don't mind."

"Yeah, sure, go ahead," I could hear Nick's groggy voice from the other side of his bedroom.

"Alright then. See you later."

I headed back to the front door and took the keys from the coffee table and made the long trek down to the first floor. While my feet were still sore, they didn't ache from each step I took; after what felt like forever, I finally arrived on the first floor, but felt exhausted from all the walking.

 _'Now I know why Nick hates his landlord,'_ I thought, before I went outside and headed towards Nick's car, as I got in, start the engine and drove right towards to ZPD.

"It's good to be going back to work," I told myself. _'_ _After all, what could possibly go wrong?...Why did I just think that?'_ I thought, knot in my stomach forming.


	10. Bad Nick

**Ch. 10: Bad Nick**

Well, I did complain about Carrots getting two days off. Then again, though, it was my own fault that I got careless and I did allowed myself to get my own shoulder bitten down by that mangy wolf. Even with the bandages covering my wound, I could feel the burning sensation from my shoulder; it hurts like hell, for god sake! Stupid painkillers hadn't kicked in yet.

 _'That's what happens for getting up close and personal to that ugly son of a bitch's face,' I thought to myself, as I got up from my bed. 'Oh well, I better do something while I'm awake for the whole day.'_

I put my casual clothes on and went out to the living room, looking around to do something that'll keep my mind off from the pain, as well as ease my boredom. I started thinking about Judy and her nightmares. Something about sleep paralysis? I then noticed the door to Judy's room left wide open...and curiosity suddenly got to me.

 _'I wonder…'_ As much as I hate snooping into my friend's personal space, I needed to know what was going on with her. Surely she must have something laying around in her room that could help Carrots out. A journal or something...anything that could give me an answer.

So I took a deep breath and made my way into her bedroom and as expected, the place was neat, tidy and organized, just as Judy would have left it that way. I started my search by looking under her bed first, but of course, I only spotted dusts instead.

 _'That's one place cross off,'_ I thought to myself, before I checked under her pillows and of course, there was nothing underneath it there either. I then shifted my search to her closet, looking through each and every box, though all I could find were nothing but clothes and shoes.

 _'Never thought you would be this fashionable,'_ After putting those away and closing the closet. I looked at the drawers and just stared at it for a moment, before giving myself a mental slap. I can't believe I was about to do something that perverted!

 _'Yeah, definitely **NOT** there!'_ There was no way I was going to search through her drawers. The last thing I wanted to find where Judy's...unmentionables staring right back at me and I rather not have that kind of image stuck in my head all day. Although... no stone unturned. I quickly shuffled through it, cursing to myself but finding nothing but bunny panties before quickly shutting the drawer closed.

I continued to look around her room for a few more minutes, still trying to find something sticking out that can help me learn more of Judy's predicament. Finally, I couldn't find anything important and sighed, before I reorganized her room back to the way it was and left the place.

"So much for finding a journal," I muttered, before I look over at the computer in the corner of the living room and then, it clicked me. Maybe she has typed in something very important in the PC.

"Let's see what you got there, Carrots," I said out loud, making my way to the computer. A lot of me was curious as to what was wrong with her. After all, she was the only one awake at my apartment and I couldn't help but wonder what she was doing. As soon as I got online, I did some research of my own.

I basically spent the next hour looking over sleep paralysis and anything that could help before my mind was dragged away.

 _'I said **NO!** Get away from me, Nick!'_

I cringed the moment I recall that last part. Judy's punch still packed a wallop for someone her size. I was glad my eye managed to healed up from that one punch alone. Otherwise, I would have many of my fellow officers asking me about it.

Despite my discovery, though, I can't find any use of them to confront Judy about her nightmare. What exactly had she dreamt about and how was I involved in it? Wait a second...could it be…?

"Was she dreaming about me the night before?" I rubbed my chin, thinking about this. "Could it be that I'm the reason she's starting to have her nightmares?"

I stared off into space at this point, but I shrugged my shoulders and pushed that thought in the back of my mind. The only one who could give him the answer was Judy herself, but that wasn't going to be such a simple task.

 _'If I confront her directly about this, I would only make it much worst. I want Judy to open up to me about it, but I rather have it do it on her own terms. I don't want to stress her out if I leave out a few hints on what she's been hiding from me.'_

I eventually sighed in defeat and decided there was only one best course of action I can take: I'll wait and see what happens next. If it happens again, then I have to confront Judy about this. If not, then the problem fixed itself and we can move on. I'm praying for the latter while expecting the former.

Regardless, though, Judy needed to tell me about her problem herself. I want to hear her side of the story with my own two ears and possibly help her out as best as I could. But for now, all I can do is wait until she comes back from work.

"I'll see what's good on TV," I said to myself, as I laid down on the couch and turned the TV on, with the news airing at its regular time.

"I'm sure there's nothing interesting going on, but it sure beats the boredom around here," I muttered, just as I saw one of the news anchors popping up from the screen.

"This is Peter Moosebridge of ZNN to bring you the latest news. Just now, reports are confirming a live shootout at the Zootopia Bank is currently in progress."

"Crime never stops for a break," I let out an annoyed sigh in response, before the TV switched to the live footage of the Zootopia Bank and surprise, surprise, there were four heavily armed dog robbers, each carrying a rifle and trying to make a quick escape with several money with them, along with several of Zootopia's finest aiming their guns at them, including a certain rabbit and fox...what the hell? Were my eyes deceiving or is that I who think they are?

I wasn't so sure if my eyes were playing tricks on me or not, did a double take just in case; sure enough, it was really Judy and Swift down there, standing side by side with the rest of the officers, both armed with their tranquilizer guns and ready to shoot back at the robbers.

"What...the...fuck?" was all I could mutter out, as the camera caught Judy and Swift taking cover from the cruiser, avoiding get shot by the robbers.

I couldn't believe what I was watching on TV: Judy and Swift were at a shootout with some goddamn robbers at the Zootopia Bank and I wasn't there to back either of them up! I wanted to help them, but what can I do? Carrots took my car to work and I wasn't even armed. Worst, my shoulder was starting to rise in pain and so was my anger. Both were starting to become unbearable for me.

"GODDAMMIT!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. "This has to happen at the worst possible time! I wish I can just leap into the TV and help them right now!"

Of course, that was not something I can simply pull off in real life, as I let out a sigh and continued to watch the scene unfold right in front of me from the TV. All I can do now is hope for the best and believe that both Carrots and Swift can get the job done without me.

"Drop the rifles and the bags this instant!" Judy commanded. "This shootout doesn't have to end in blood!"

"Fuck you, cop!" I could hear one of the robbers cursing back at Carrots before the censors could get to it, before they starting shooting. Much to my relief, though, Judy managed to hide back in her hiding spot in the nick of time, while I saw Swift coming out from her hiding spot and shoot back at the robbers. Of course, that didn't work, as the robbers retaliated by firing back and she hid back into her hiding spot as well, barely avoiding getting shot at as well.

"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!"

My heart was beating so fast, I could feel my rib cage throbbing; a few more throbbing and I might as well have suffered a heart attack right about now. It didn't help that the cameraman was filming from afar, so I wasn't able to completely make out the faint images from the camera. Still, it was close enough to recognize to recognize who the people were.

"...We're not going to say this again!" I could partially hear Swift sounding so demanding. "Drop down the bags and walk away!"

Obviously, her demands were ignored and the burglars responded by shooting back at her again. Likewise, I heard several more shootings, but not from the robbers, but from the officers themselves, trying to take out the robbers down. Unfortunately for them, none of them were having any luck, since the robbers themselves had decent cover for protection.

"Oh come on!" I complained. I can't believe those dirtbags haven't been taken down yet.

Suddenly, I saw Judy calmly getting up from her cover and pulled her gun up, as I squinted my eyes hard enough to see what was about to happen. Before I knew it, Judy aimed her gun at one of the robbers and traq'd him on the shoulder, taking him out with one hit, shocking his partners in the process.

"Thank goodness you got good aim, Carrots," I was relieved to know that Judy could defend herself, before I saw Swift coming out of her hiding spot and shooting down the remaining three robbers, having taken advantage of their shock.

Soon, all four robbers were shot down and everyone, myself included, hold our breaths, waiting for another unexpected surprise to show up. Time seemed to stand still by this point, as nothing but silence took over; fortunately for all of us, nothing happened and the entire crowd, as well as the police officers, cheered on for Judy and Swift and so did I. I didn't have to hold my breath any longer, for today's main event has finally come to an end.

 _'Thank god,'_ I let out a huge sigh of relief, before I saw several reporters rushing towards Judy and Swift. _'I'll have to admit, Carrots and Swift were working together quite well. Hell, they make quite the good team too. Hopefully they have each other's back, though.'_

While I was wondering what was going to happen between them, I continued to watch the news, just as the footage switched back to the news anchor, who was equally relieved of the ordeal as I was.

"There you have it, folks…" Peter Moosebridge began with a smile. "Zootopia's finest were able to halt an attempted robbery today and without causing any casualty from either side as well. We'll have more updates on this latest development."

I turned off the TV, as I already had my fill of the news up for one day, before I looked at the clock nearby. Well I'll be damned, it looks like Judy was due to be home in an hour.

 _'I might as well make dinner for the both of us,'_ I got off from the couch, ignoring the burning sensation that was coming from my shoulder and made my way into the kitchen, looking over the recipes in the cookbook I had on the counter to see what was worth cooking up tonight.

"What I need is a meal that we can celebrate with," I muttered to myself, skimming from one page to another. "But it has to be a meal that we can both enjoy together, but what would it be?"

I continued to flip through the pages, skimming each and every recipe, until I finally come across one that seemed worth trying: it was a soup recipe with the usual broths, vegetables and what nots. Since we already have stirred fried vegetables, spaghetti and garlic breads for the last two dinners, we might as well try something new for tonight.

"Alright, I can make this the best soup I can come up with."

With this in mind, I took the pot out of the cupboard and put it on the stove, before I gathered up a few key ingredients from the fridge, such as a few vegetables, broths and spices and followed the instruction from the recipe as diligently as I could, chopping up a few lettuces, carrots and onions, pouring in the right amount of broths, along with the chopped vegetables, into the pot and adding in a few spices, among others, before turning on the stove and started cooking. It took in much effort than I thought it would, but everything was starting to take shape and after one sip, I knew I have the best soup in my hand.

 _'Now this is more like it!'_ I grabbed two of the fanciest looking bowls from the cupboards and poured the soup inside of them, setting them up neatly in the most fanciest ways possible, or as fancy as a fox like me could pull off.

Just then, I heard the front door opening up, as I quickly made my way to the living room and sure enough, Carrots was standing in front of me, looking very tired, as she sighed before she began to talk.

"Hey, Nick, how was your- **WHOA!** "

I don't know why, but I have the urge to give Judy the biggest hug I could give to her. It was so good to see her in one piece, as I wrapped my arms around her warm body.

"Judy, I'm so glad you're back!" I happily blurted out.

"Hey Nick, take it easy. Of course I'm back," Carrots spoke back, before I put her down to the floor. "Would you mind telling me what was that about?"

"...I saw what happened on TV," I finally replied. Her face turned to one of understanding. "It was all over the news today. You, Swift and the other officers were facing off against those four thugs. They tried to take you guys out, so they can run off with their loots. For Christ's sake, I thought I was going to see blood on TV, but you and Swift were able to take them down from that stand off!"

"Yeah, it sure was pretty crazy, especially when you have bullets shooting over your head," Judy admitted, chuckling like it was no big deal. "But don't worry, Nick, everything worked out in the…"

Judy trailed off the moment she faced me again, slightly gasping the moment she did so.

"Nick, are you...crying?" Judy asked, looking at me with concerns.

At first, I was confused by what Carrots was talking about. But then, I saw a few tear drops hitting down on the floor, before I put my own hand on my face and felt something wet. Sure enough, there were tears coming from my face.

"Crying? Me?" I wiped the tears off of my face and giving Judy the best poker face I could come up with. "Of course I'm not crying. They're from the onions that I chopped up for tonight's dinner."

"Ah, you do care about me after all," Judy joked, followed by a smirk and a hug. "And you rag on me for being emotional."

"Hey, don't push your luck right there, Carrots," I joked back, letting out a half-hearted laugh, but to be perfectly honest, I was very happy that Judy made it back here in one piece. I can't imagine what would happened if Carrots had gotten herself killed in the line of duty. I would never forgive myself if that happened.

"Say, what is that smell?" Judy asked out loud, as she broke off the hug and her nose sniffed the air, before she began to follow the source, as I followed right besides her and we both arrived at the kitchen, where she saw the two bowls resting on the table, still containing the soups I put in not so long ago.

"Oh, the soup's looking a little fancier than I'm used to," Carrots looked quite pleased, before she faced me. "Nick, did you took the time to make them?"

"Why, of course I did," I spoke with the best fake French accent I can come up with. "After all, I want to make ze best soup for ze finest cop of Zootopia."

"Nick, you goof!" I could tell Judy was trying to hold back her laughter, so at least I got a reaction out of her. "I'm half expecting a sign that might as well read 'Congrats on not dying!' to fall from the ceiling with balloons and confetti."

"Too bad I didn't took the time to make all that happen," I joked back and soon, we were both laughing our heads off at our own jokes, before we calmed ourselves down and took our seats at the table, where we sipped our soups. I took a glance at Judy and spotted a smile forming on her face.

"Wow Nick, this is really good. You really outdid yourself on this one."

"I added in a few carrots in your bowl just in case," I joked.

"I'll take that as a compliment, but thanks for taking the time to make this."

"You're very much welcome," I happily said

We continued having our soup for at least a few minutes, before I saw Judy looking straight at me, like she had suddenly remembered something.

"Nick, were you hiding the fact that we have another fox on ZPD?"

"A little," I insisted to Judy. "I wanted you to meet her for the first time with no expectations. I didn't want to brag that a fox got in before another bunny did. However, I also think it was a good idea to have someone like Swift on the force. At least people's perception of what predatory species are suppose to be is starting to change, even if it's a slow one."

"I agree, Nick," Judy replied, nodding her head. "I think it's great that the ZPD allowed Swift to join in. That, right there, shows that anyone can be who they want to be, regardless of who their species are. It also shows the effect we're having on others."

I couldn't help but smile back at Judy. I was lucky to meet someone who didn't judged me for my species and instead, got to know me as a person. As much as I wanted to enjoy this moment, though, there was something else I wanted to ask Carrots about.

"So Judy, how was your day with Swift?" I was very curious to know how they were really getting along.

"Hang on just a second," Carrots put her spoon back in the bowl, clearing up her throat, before she faced me, ready to explain, as I listened. "Well, to start…"


	11. Firing Lanes

**Ch. 11: Firing Lanes**

I didn't expect today to be like it was up to that point, but I treated today like any other day before it, as I was driving off to work like usual, before parking the car and headed straight into ZPD, before spotting Clawhauser at his desk, having come back from his day off.

"Hey Clawhauser," I greeted my friend, who looked up and smiled.

"Hey Judy, it's so good to see you here again. Bet you must have been tired of that little apartment you called home," he greeted back, but I could feel my face reflex as I waved back at him. He didn't know it, but it would probably be better for now.

"Yeah, that place is garbage. It's so good to be out of it," I put on a smile and continued past him to head to the meeting room. I eventually arrived and as usual, it was bustling, as I took my seat and waited patiently, before Chief Bogo arrived and noticed me sitting.

"Welcome back to being in the line of duty, Hopps," Chief Bogo gruffly told me, as he went over to his podium, his own way of welcoming me back to ZPD. It was probably one of the nicest thing he has ever said to me...if anything that came out of him could be considered "nice".

"Alright officers, I wanna welcome Judy back with us today," every officer turned to face me and clapped their hands enthusiastically. I was honestly expecting a sarcastic comment from Chief, but he just cleared his throat up, getting their attention, so he could continue. "That's enough for one day. Anyway, let's get down to business."

Sure enough, like every morning, he handed each of the officers their assignments for today, leaving one by one afterwards to dutifully carry them out. Eventually, it was my turn and that was when I got a surprise of a lifetime.

"Officer Hoops, you and Officer Swift will be going on patrol duty today," I looked at Chief Bogo in confusion.

"Officer Swift?" I tilted my head inquisitively as I asked.

Suddenly, I spotted a fox in a police uniform dashing right next to me out of the corner of my eye and believe me, she was getting too close in my personal space. I was half expecting to be glomped, as she darted towards me.

"Hi, my name is-"

All I could do was yelped and instinctively shoved her away from me. I couldn't believe that she took me by surprise like that!

"Wow! That's even more amazing than I thought" I didn't know what else to say, so I turned to Chief Bogo, hoping he could explain the situation.

"Chief Bogo, what's going on?"

"Her name is Officer Sofia Swift and she'll be your partner for today," he replied, as he shrugged his shoulders. "As far as I'm concerned, she's your problem now."

"But Chief Bogo-" before I could protest further, he spoke back to me.

"Just try to get along with Officer Swift, Hopps and who knows, you two might be best friends by the end of the day," he finished with a smirk on his face, before handing me a folder with my patrol route and left the meeting room, leaving me and Swift by ourselves. I wasn't quite sure how to handle a grown adult that's so...excitable. Children? Yes. Adults? Not really.

"This is going to be a long day," I muttered to myself.

"This has been such a great week for me!" Swift excitedly said. "First, I'm working with Nick Wilde and now, I'm working with you!"

"Nick?" I was shocked to hear her last remark, but it didn't took me too long to realize who she was talking about.

 _'So this is the same Swift that Nick mentioned yesterday,'_ I wasn't pleased by my discovery. _'Nick, when I get back at the apartment, you have a lot of explaining to do. Like why didn't you warn me that she had enough energy to power the city by herself?'_

I was going to have to ask about that later, but I put that thought away for the moment and decided to get to know Swift a bit more. After all, she was new around ZPD.

"So Swift, have you been given a tour around ZPD yet?"

"Not really, Officer Hopps. Not even on my first day," she answered, while I simply sighed..

"Of course. Chief Bogo wouldn't allow it anyway," I shook my head to this with a small smile on my face. "Don't worry, I can give you a tour around here myself."

"Would Chief Bogo be cool with it?"

"Trust me when I say this: there are a lot of things I do that Chief Bogo isn't cool with," I explained to Swift. "Don't worry about him, though. He's always like that."

"If you say so then, Officer Hopps," Swift accepted my explanation.

"No problem Swift, but call me Judy…except when Bogo's around, because you'll have to call me Hopps. He gets a bit pissy when we don't go on last name basis," I insisted. "But Nick should have given you a tour around here since yesterday. That lazy bum."

I just shrugged my shoulders to this, before I lead Swift a tour around ZPD, showing her the places that she wasn't familiar with.

I first took her to the office space, explaining to Swift that we work on the reports for today, as well as the "fun" activities we do when Chief Bogo isn't looking. Fun is in quotations because everyone in the office space seems to have a different definition of what the word "fun" means. Next, I lead her to the records room down in the basement, where we stored the files of previous cases around Zootopia, whether they have been closed or have gone cold. Eventually, I lead her to the firing range and that was when she showed an interest in it.

"Judy, is that a scoreboard right there?" she asked, spotting it not far from where we were. It was the firing range automatic course's leaderboard, showing who was top dog at the range.

"Why yes, yes it is," I replied. "Do you want to try it out?"

"I wouldn't mind, but I do want to know more about the scoreboard," she insisted, as I cleared up my throat, before explaining to Swift.

"The targets have special zones worth specific points and the goal is to be as fast and as accurate as possible. You're given 6 clips of 7 rounds each and to get as high a score as possible in 2 minutes. Each full second you save is 5 points and the best spots on the targets are 10 points, but every miss is minus 5 points."

"That sounds like fun," Swift seemed more interested in the firing range than ever.

"You can thank Nick for that. It was his idea," I informed her.

"His idea?"

"Yep. After he started to show off at the firing range, we set up a scoring system in the firing range and Nick reigned at the top for weeks. The system for scoring was always in place but it was the first time we actually started keeping score on a precinct basis. But then, Chief Bogo noticed the scoreboard at the firing range and participated in it, scoring even higher than Nick. As you can imagine, Nick's ego got deflated and Bogo himself left the area with a satisfied smirk."

"Oh my," Swift started to giggle, before she looked at me sympathetically. "I feel sorry for NIck, though. He must have taken pride on being number one."

"Don't worry, Swift. He got over it...eventually," I assured her. "Anyway, do you want to try out the firing range now?"

"Of course I do," Swift quickly nodded her head. I swear, she seemed very eager to impress me.

We both grabbed our guns, along with some earplugs and enough clips for the challenge and got ourselves ready. Once we were good to go, we both went to the firing range.

I was the first to go, with Swift watching me from the sideline, as I began to shoot at my targets after the red light flashed three times, hitting at least a few spots by chance, but also missing a few along the way. Once I ran out of bullets, I hit the buzzer to stop the timer and pull all the targets forward. Swift and I looked over all the targets to see how much I got.

"Looks like I scored 373 points. That was about average for me," I casually commented.

"That was still quite good right there," Swift complimented me. It wasn't really, with me knowing what the top scores are.

"Alright Swift, give it a shot. Pun not intended."

Swift chuckled at my remark, before I let her take my spot, while I watched from the sideline. Soon, she began to shoot at her targets with the best concentration she had, managing to shoot more than I ever could, but Swift did missed a few spots as well. Eventually, she also ran out of bullets, as she hit the buzzer to end the course to see how much she got and was pleased by her score she got after we looked over the targets.

"Alright! I got 407 points!"

"Congratulations, Swift. You did a good job," I could hear Swift squealed with excitement as soon as I praised her. After all, this was her first time at the firing range. "You got some good aiming, but don't let that go to your head. Look."

I pointed out the scoreboard to Swift once again, showing to her that Nick had 597 points, with Chief Bogo at a whooping 654 points. She immediately looked dejected as she let out a little whine. My best was a paltry by comparison 463 points, which I probably got during a blue moon while all the planets were aligned, because I can't get near that again. It was clear that neither of us were nowhere near as good as they were.

"Wow, they must be fast to score that high," Swift noted. "Still, I hope we can take their spots someday."

"It's a goal worth aiming for," I said with a smile. "We do have a lot of room to improve. Anyway, there's one more room you should check out."

"What room would that be?"

"I'll show you," I lead Swift down to the very end of the hallway, before we both enter into the one place that I admired the most: the gym.

"How I miss being here so much," Every time I would come to the gym, I always make sure I get a good workout. After all, I needed to stay in shape for whenever I go out to arrest some criminals in Zootopia. But of all the things I can do around in the gym, the one thing I always looked forward to was the ring: every few weeks, some of the officers would organized a fight between other officers and this would draw a large crowd of officers from those that were working out or were just off duty and just wanted to see the fight. It was one of the best moments around ZPD when that happens. "It's good to be back."

"Judy, what is this?" I turned to face Swift, who was looking at a picture of me, with a plaque that read "Current Champion" on it.

"There was a competition in here not so long ago. Everyone were determined to see who would be the reigning champion of the ring," I explained. "If Nick is a superb shot, then I'm the ring queen around here."

"You must have knocked out a few teeth along the way," Swift joked.

"I try not to overdo it, but Nick would be the only one to spar with me, but only because he knows how to protect his face. Then again, it might be because I'm not a small target to him to anyone else for that matter."

"How good is Nick in the ring anyway?"

"Let's just say he wasn't as gifted with his fists as he was with a gun. Nick likes to think himself a manly fox who looks his enemies in the eyes, but in reality, he'd rather look his enemies in the eye through the lens of a high powered sniper rifle from the next district over," Swift seemed to get a laugh out of that explanation.

"So you fight and he shoots?"

"It works really well. Though that's probably the reason Nick got hurt. I'll have to give him some personal lessons when he gets back."

"I bet a lot of criminals underestimate you because of that."

"All the time," I remarked with an exasperated groan. You would think word would get around that if they saw a bunny in a police uniform, you were getting an ass kicking. In fact, they're the ones who loses their teeth."

"I can imagine them wishing they didn't have their asses handed to them by you afterwards," Swift chuckled.

"Damn right," I said proudly, before looking at the clock nearby. "But we should get going now. Chief Bogo would freak out if he sees we're not doing our jobs."

"Good idea," Swift agreed, before we bolted out of ZPD and headed to the nearest available police cruiser, as we got into our seats, started the engine and drove off to the streets for duty patrol.

* * *

For the most part, nothing eventful happened for a while during our assignment. Since we didn't want to get bored on the job, we decided to entertain ourselves while we're on duty and I know just what I have in mind. So we started telling jokes and funny stories about anything that came to mind. Eventually it led to us making fun of Nick.

"No way!" Swift was doing her best not to laugh hard.

"Yes way!" I told her otherwise, trying to contain my own laughter. "One of the officers replaced the chair that Nick and I always sat at with a rigged chair to fall apart. They then warned me about it, so I let him sit first. The next thing he knew, Nick fell for it hook, line and sinker! He looked like he saw a ghost as he laid on the floor!"

We were both laughing very hard of that incident, wiping off a few tears from our faces, while trying to be serious at the same time. We didn't know how long it was since we were on duty patrol, but we felt our stomachs growling, so we parked near the sidewalk to start our lunch break.

"Judy, you're lucky to have a partner like Nick."

"You haven't seen Nick at his most punchable yet," I happily joked. "Trust me, he can be infuriating to work with when things aren't serious."

"I'm sure he'll get there in no time," Swift said to me, before winking back.

Once more, we laughed at our own remarks, before we calmed ourselves down.

"But you're right, Swift. I'm lucky to have someone like Nick as my partner."

"I'm glad we can agree that he's a good partner," Swift smiled back, happy to hear my answer. "It's almost lunch time," Swift chirped in with glee. Clearly, this girl likes her food.

Just as we were about to have our break, though, we suddenly heard radio dispatch from our radio.

 _"Officers, this is an all points bulletin. We have a 10-30B at Hog Vault over in Central on 16th Ave. I repeat, 10-30B at Hog Vault over in Central on 16th Ave. Suspects confirmed to be armed and dangerous, over."_

"There goes our lunch break," I said disappointedly, with Swift sighing, as we ignored our growling stomachs and drove towards to Central as fast we can, even passing through ongoing traffic to reach our destination. By the time we arrived, we saw several other police officers standing near their cruisers, armed with their guns, as well as four dog robbers near the bank's entrance, armed with their rifles, along with some bags of money with them. They were all in a standoff, but neither had fired at one another...yet.

"Alright Swift…" I instructed Swift. "Take out your tranquilizer gun and let's hope we can take them out alive. If shit hits the fan, we'll leave the rest to the officers armed with firearms."

"Got it," Swift understood my instruction, before we pulled out both of our guns and joined up with the rest of the officers.

"Drop the rifles and the bags this instant!" I commanded. "This shootout doesn't have to end in blood!"

"Fuck you, cop!" one of the robbers cursed at me, before he and his buddies began shooting, forcing us and the rest of the officers to take cover with the cruisers.

"I think you made them mad," Swift noted, as bullets flew by. We poked our heads out to shoot back, but that was no easy task: the robbers were having the advantage, considering the structure of the building, continuing to shoot back with their rifles while using the pillars from the bank as cover, making sure they wouldn't let a single bullet or tranquilizer dart hit them.

"Alright punks! We're not going to say this again!" Swift demanded, raising her gun at the robbers. "Drop down the bags and walk away!"

Her demands were ignored, however, as the robbers started shooting back at us once again, while we took cover from the cruiser. We continued to peek out, waiting for one of them to drop his guard down; it felt like this was going on forever, but one of the robbers stopped firing and started to reload his rifle.

 _'Perfect,'_ I calmly got up from my hiding spot and aimed my gun at him, before pulling the trigger, as the dart hit the robber on the shoulder, knocking him out. As soon as he went down, his buddies looked at him with shock from the successful shot. I then saw Swift getting out of her hiding spot, shooting down another robber as well. The other officers manage to hit the other two with tranq darts as well. The moment they went down, we were able to thwart their robbery, much to our relief.

"Thank goodness," I said to myself, as I saw the officers heading towards the downed robbers, cuff them up and drag them back to the cruisers.

"Glad that's done and over with," Swift added, before she and I looked at each other and smiled.

Suddenly, we heard the crowd cheering from down the street, as well as several reporters swarming out of nowhere and surrounding us with their cameras and microphones, wasting no time trying to get info on the robbery.

"Officer Hopps, do you have anything to comment about the robbery?"

"Officer Swift, how does it feel to stop your first robbery?"

"Officers, how did it feel having death staring straight at you?"

"I'm saving the comments for later until we know what's going on," I told the reporters, before grabbing Swift's hand and went inside the bank, ignoring their questions altogether. I looked back at Swift, who seemed very disoriented from her first encounter with the reporters.

"Don't be afraid to tell them that you'll explain everything later. It's not much, but it should be enough to deter them."

"Thanks, Judy. I'll remind myself to do that the next time I ran into some reporters," Swift showed her gratitude.

"You're welcome, Swift. Right now, we need to get the stories from the civilians and bank-tellers and find out what happened down here."

"Alright then, Judy," Swift agreed, before she heard her stomach growling. "But I still wish we didn't skipped lunch, though."

"Don't worry, Swift, we'll get there…" I then heard my stomach growling as well. "Eventually."

For the next several minutes, we took every account from the citizens and the bank-tellers, each giving their versions of what happened at Hog Vault before the robbery took place. After talking with the final witness, we handed our report to Fangmeyer, who agreed to handle it for us, so we could actually go eat something, before we got back into our cruiser and drove away from the scene.

"So Judy, do you know a good place to eat?"

"Let me think about it..." I pondered for a moment, before I recalled that one restaurant Nick mentioned a few days ago. "How about we check out Lyon's Restaurant?"

"Actually, I've been there before. It's a great place to go."

"Then that's where we're heading then," I smiled at her. "What kind of dishes should I try out, though?"

"There aren't many dishes that doesn't involved carrots, that's for sure," Swift remarked, followed by a smirk.

"Oh, Swift!" I chuckled, playfully punching her arm, as she started to laugh, before I laughed along with her. After a while, we managed to calm ourselves down, as Swift drove us to Lyon's Restaurant. Thankfully, it was a few minutes and we arrived at our destination, as we got out of our cruiser and headed inside, before being greeted by a lioness in casual attires. I spotted a name tag on her blouse and saw that it read Lyon.

"Can I help you, officers?" She asked, a bit worried. I instantly tried to calm her down.

"Oh we're just on break!" I replied with a nervous chuckle. Thankfully her expression shifted to a much more positive smile.

 _'So this is Lyon herself,'_ I thought, before I smiled, went up to her and extended my hand out. "Greetings Lyon, My name is Judy Hopps and it's nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine," Lyon greeted back and shook my hand.

"Table for two of Zootopia's finest?" I requested.

"You got it," Lyon happily replied back. "It's nice of Swift to bring a friend with her."

"I just wanted to make sure that she has a good time around here," Swift responded to Lyon.

"I'll make sure she has a good experience around here," Lyon happily said, before leading Swift and I to a nearby table and handing us two menus. "Let me know when you're ready," Lyon said, as she headed back.

We took our time to look at our menus, looking for something good to try out. I then looked at the drink section and saw a pretty extensive selections of them, including alcohols, fruit drinks, sodas and even a combination of all three.

 _'Wow! This is quite a selection!'_ I was amazed by how much varieties this menu had to offer just in drinks; to say nothing of the food that seemed to stretch forever. After looking at the menu a few more times, I finally decided to settle down on something simple I could try out at Lyon's Restaurant. As if she could sense we were ready to order, Lyon had come back with her notepad and pencil at the ready.

"Are you ready to order?" The lioness asked sweetly.

"I'll have a carrot juice and the mixed salad," I told Lyon.

"I'll have a fruit punch and the double fried egg sandwich," Swift told Lyon as well.

"Alright," she began jotting down on her notepad. "I'll have those out in a few minutes."

Lyon soon left the table and made her way into the kitchen to hand out the orders and to pass the time, I decided to make some small talk with Swift.

"So Swift, what do you think of ZPD so far?"

"It's the coolest and thrilling thing to ever happen to me!" Swift happily replied, gushing out her feelings. "It's especially amazing that I get to work with you and Nick and all in one week too!"

"I'm happy to know that Nick and I inspired you to join ZPD," I was pleased that we were able to inspire Swift to become a police officer.

"So Judy, what's going to happen to me when Nick returns to work?" Swift asked, looking at me rather worrisomely. I don't blame her for feeling that way. Nick is my partner, after all.

"If I know Bogo and I do know Bogo, my best guess would be that you'll have to do meter maid duty, just like everyone else had to when they started," I informed her. "Even Nick had to do meter maid duty two times, but only because Chief Bogo wanted to prevent people from saying he wasn't making everyone do it."

"That doesn't sound very thrilling," Swift's ears lowered down in disappointment.

"Don't worry, Swift. It's not going to be forever," I assured her. "I'm sure you'll have a new partner in no time."

"I do hope it's a partner that I can trust. I don't want to end up in a situation that requires me to do all the work."

"It's alright, Swift…" I sympathized with her. "Even though Nick and I work together, he prefers public relations, while I ended up doing the reports. He might see this as being even between us, but I make sure to remind him that it isn't...ever."

"It must be difficult keeping Nick in line," Swift commented.

"Nick certainly knows how to make that into a chore," I chuckled at my response.

"Sorry it took a while, but here you two go," Swift and I looked and saw Lyon with our orders, as she put them down at our table, before leaving us to eat, drink and enjoy each other's company together.

* * *

"...The rest of the day was pretty much uneventful, aside from stopping a few lowlife criminals every hour or so, before we called it a day and went back home."

As soon as I finished up my story, I looked at Nick and waited for a response from my friend. He looked conflicted in what emotion he was feeling.

"Wow, that is some story right there," he finally spoke back. "I am happy that you and Swift are getting along."

"Other than having to get use to her fangirling on me and you, she's seems quite nice and dependable when the situation calls for it."

"That's good," Nick nodded his head. "I think she has what it takes to be a good cop, despite her…over-enthusiasm."

"Agreed," I said, though I do think that someone like Swift would take her work as an officer seriously over time. Nick and I had long finished eating so we grabbed our plates and threw them in the sink to be washed. "You're doing dishes, right?"

"Well, Carrots, since you live here too, we might have to find a way to divide up the chores," Nick spoke with his trademark smirk, as looked to find a way to put chores on me. Like hell that was going to happen.

"I think I'll handle that, since I let you divide up our work too and that hasn't been balanced ever," I countered, trying my best to be stern with him.

"It looked balanced to me," Nick responded, feigning innocence.

"Oh, I bet," I snarked back at him. Nick turned around to begin doing dishes, smirk still plastered on his face. I left to go change in my room, but I immediately felt weird but couldn't put my finger on it.

"Something's wrong with this room…"

* * *

 **A/N: Haven't done one of these in a while.**

 **Okay so I only have this update: all future chapters will be posted on a Thursday so that I'm not posting them late into Wednesday anymore. This is only for convenience for me considering my days off (Tue-Thurs) and my own sleep patterns (on days off, I'm lucky if I woke up before 2 pm).**

 **Until next thursday, Sal out!**


	12. Clear the Air

**Ch. 12: Clear the Air**

How dare Judy make an injured fox do dishes. Nah, I'm just playing around. Nothing beats the night than cleaning up some bowls after a good dinner at the table by yours truly. Despite the shit that went on today, everything worked out alright, especially with Carrots and Swift getting along at ZPD. Honestly, I was expecting them to get in some cat fight, but instead, they ended up becoming quick pals.

 _'It's a good thing I don't have to play middleman between them whenever we're at work,'_ I happily thought, as I continued to clean up the bowls. _'At least they know how to cooperate when shit goes down and having Carrots showing her the ropes wasn't so bad either. Still, I feel sorry that Swift won't be partners with us anymore, since Judy and I are off tomorrow and I have to get back to work the day after. It's a shame, since Swift is really good in her job.''_

I then felt my shoulder ached a little, still sore from the bite I received from yesterday. Even though it healed up a bit, I could still feel the pain from the bite I got from that damn wolf.

 _'Note to self: never get too close and personal to some butt ugly criminal,'_ I reminded myself. _"I'm not quite that good in a fist fight yet."_

 **"NICK!"** I could hear Judy shouting my name loudly, as I stopped washing the bowls and turned to Judy's room.

"Yeah?" I called out, but I didn't received an answer back. Before long, Judy marched from around the corner and gave me the most displeased look I have ever seen from a rabbit. The way she was glaring at me made me feel uncomfortable already. What was it that she wanted to call me for?

"Have you been into my room?" she sternly asked. I tried my best to keep a straight and blank face, despite the fact that my ass was probably grass already.

"Of course I have. It's just that, since I couldn't go to work today and I didn't wanted to be as bored as fuck, I figure I could just do some summer cleaning around the apartment just to do anything around here," I gave the most believable lie I could think of to Carrots. "I only stopped what I was doing after I learned of the bank robbery on TV."

I then smiled innocently at Carrots, hoping she would accept this response. She still continued to give me the same displeased look, however, much to my dismay.

"Being bored and wanting to clean the apartment isn't the best excuse for snooping into my room, Nick. Now tell me what you were looking inside my room for."

"Dammit," I quietly cursed myself. I hate it whenever she gets the drop on me. No matter; I might as well as tell her the truth.

"Alright, you got me…" I began, clearing up my throat. "I was looking into your room for some...answers," I said it as vague as I could.

"In my underwear drawer?" Judy snorted at me, looking less than impressed with me. I felt my heart dropped and my hands feel really cold, though from lack of blood flow or the water I couldn't tell.

 _'Oh shit!'_ I worriedly thought, as Judy began her explanation.

"In case you're wondering, I figured it out since one of my panties was caught between the drawer and frame, when I know I neatly folded everything," she continued, crossing her arms out and still giving me the same stern look. For my part, all I could was stared back at her, my face burning up with embarrassment and my throat feeling so dry, I couldn't say my usual smart aleck quip back at her. It felt like a vice wrapped around my neck, squeezing it very tightly.

"You might be a good sleuth, Nick, but you're still sloppy at hiding it," she concluded, as I gulped nervously, before I finally spoke back.

"Judy, it's not what it looks like-"

"I don't particularly care what it looks like," she cut me off. "It doesn't matter whether your intentions were good or not, Nick. The fact is, you invaded into my personal space! You have no right to snoop into my room like that!"

"...You're right, Carrots," I looked down on the floor in shame, as I deserved to be berated. "I shouldn't have been in there."

"Lying also didn't help your case, Nick. Now, tell me what you were really looking into my room for," Judy was practically interrogating me at this point.

"...I just wanted to know what was causing your nightmare," I finally confessed, before I hear Judy letting out a sigh and I saw the stern look on her face starting to soften up a little. "I thought I could find some journal or something to help me understand what was going on, since I wasn't getting very much info out of you."

"Even though what you did was wrong, I'll admit that I should have been more upfront about it with you," she simply said.

"Especially if it's a nightmare that I'm somehow involved in," I added, getting Judy's attention. "Could you blame me for being so curious after hearing you telling me to 'get away' like I was a killer in a slasher film?"

"Well, I-"

"And then followed up with you socking me in the face?" I deadpanned, cutting her off. Even though the pain was gone, I still cringed a bit whenever I recall that last part up. I sometimes forget that Judy actually has pretty good upper body strength for a rabbit.

"That was an accident!"

"Like you screaming my name like a banshee in your sleep was an accident too?" I sarcastically asked.

"Um…" Judy stammered, uncertain how to respond back.

"Not only that, but you screamed even louder when I held you down on your own bed," I pointed out. "What the hell was that about?"

But Judy continued to stammer with her words, unable to form a single sentence to my claims, while I simply sighed to this, uncertain what to say at this point. It was clear to both of us that we weren't being honest with one another and it was starting to drive a wedge between us. Not only that, but the air in the living room was starting to feel chilly and thick all of a sudden. This is the middle of Summer, for christ's sakes! There was no way it should be that cold. It was liked that it sensed our discomfort and the temperature took a complete dip downward real fast.

 _'Why is it so cold all of a sudden?'_ I thought to myself, before looking back at Judy. She looked so conflicted right now, it was like she doesn't know what to do anymore. I couldn't stand seeing her like this and I have to do something to calm her down.

"Judy, we need to come clean with each other. If we don't clear the air between us, it'll only get worst. I told you why I was in your room, so tell me about this nightmare that you keep having...please."

"...You're right, Nick. I think it's time for me to get it off of my chest," Judy agreed, despite being upset at me for violating her privacy. But at least she understood that hiding something important from me wouldn't do us any good either.

Once she calmed down enough, Judy proceeded to sit on the couch nearby and I nearly followed suit, but I decided to sit on one of the empty chairs instead, mainly to give Judy some space, but also the expression on her face indicated that she had something serious to say.

"Alright Nick, what I'm about to tell you is going to sound insane, so get ready for what I'm about to say."

 _'This shit couldn't get any worst than it already is,'_ I thought to myself. "Whatever it is you're about to say, Carrots, I'm all ears." I looked in Judy's direction, but she wasn't looking at me; in fact, she was starting a nearby coffee table instead.

"Alright then…" was all I could say back, though she still continued to look at the coffee table. I was weirded out by it, but I didn't want to push the issue about it either.

Silence soon filled up the room, while I waited for Judy to give me her answer. I saw her opening up her mouth every few seconds, only to stop in her tracks at the last moment. This continued on for at least a few minutes and I grew more and more nervous with each second passing by.

 _'Come on, Carrots! Just say it already!'_ I mentally urged my friend. The suspense was killing me at this point, just as Judy was taking a deep breath and finally gave me a response.

"The nightmare that I have been having for the last few nights...it was about you, Nick."

I just sat on my chair, trying to restrain the urge to refrain from making a remark at her claim. Of course I knew her nightmare involved me, but why was I even involved in it to begin with? All I could do was sit down and listened to what Judy had to say.

"Every time I have this nightmare, I would be on my bed, unable to move myself except for my eyes and I couldn't do nothing but look around. When I do...I would see a pair of green eyes near the foot of my bed. Those eyes...they look like yours. In fact...he looks like you, he talks like you too and he even claims to be you. But then, he would always approach me...and try to rape me!"

Once Judy finished up her explanation, all I could was stared at my friend in utter shock. This was not the kind of answer that I was expecting to hear tonight. Carrots looked like she was on the verge of tears just from having to recall her nightmare in details.

"...What?" I blurted out. What Judy had told me just now...I couldn't believe it! Not only did she dreamt of something like that, but I would never imagined that her nightmare would be about me doing something so...vile and disgusting to her. We've been friends for almost a year now and never in my life would I imagine something like this!

"Didn't you hear what I just said?!" Judy held back her tears, but it was clear her feelings were hurt by my reaction. "I said I would be on my bed, unable to-"

"Judy, I heard you the first time!" I interrupted, assuring her that I had listened to every word she had told me. "I just couldn't wrap my head around on how crazy that sounds! You're my best friend and I would never do anything that vicious to you!"

Judy wiped off the few tears from her face, still looking at the coffee table, but smiled a bit to my response.

"I know you would never do that to me, Nick, but a part of me is still having doubts about it."

"What kind of doubts are we talking about?" I asked wearily. I have no clue what Carrots was getting at.

"I don't know, Nick," Carrots admitted. "I guess a part of me is afraid that someday, you might do something so irrational and stupid, that you won't be able to control it."

I frowned upon hearing that answer; I couldn't believe that Judy would say something like that to me. Sure, I can be reckless and make decisions very rashly without thinking first (a trait that I think I got from her since she's probably worse than me on the rash scale), but I know right from wrong like everyone else. I had to let Carrots know how I felt about it.

"Now wait a minute, Judy, you can't just-" I stopped when I saw her wincing and I instantly regretted what I was about to do. Getting upset won't make this situation any better for either of us and it'll be exactly what she claimed I would become. Worst, she might not talk to me ever again. "Sorry…"

 _'I can't believe I almost did that,'_ I sighed and dropped the issue. Instead of getting angry at Carrots, I should be helping her out and rationalize what her fear was all about. "You know, maybe your fear of me is more...instinctive."

"Really?" Judy looked at me for the first time, surprised by my answer. It wasn't much, but at least I got her attention.

"Really," I replied. "Foxes are suppose to be natural predators to rabbits, so perhaps your fear is based on something that you have no control over."

"I-I guess that would make sense then," Carrots accepted my explanations, though she was still trying not to let her emotions overwhelmed her. "I mean, my nightmares have been giving me a lot of crazy thoughts lately."

"Nightmares tends to make people do crazy things, Carrots," I quipped, before I started to realize what she was talking about. "Wait a sec...did you start having this nightmare before you suddenly felt the need to become my roommate?"

Judy opened her mouth, but she didn't say anything right back and hesitated, much to my annoyance. I guess old habits are hard to break than she thought.

"Judy…" I began, doing my best to stay calm. "I made it clear that we need to come clean with each other, so I'll ask you again: why did you become roommates with me, despite having nightmares about me to begin with?"

"You know the answer to that question: I want to help you out so you don't have to spend your whole paycheck on living here," Judy insisted.

"Are you sure, Carrots?" I arched an eyebrow in response. Honestly, I don't know what to believe after finding out about her nightmare. "Was there more to it than helping me out with my financial situation?"

It was then that Judy looked down on the ground in shame and let out a sigh, before she gave me her reason.

"I really did want to help you, Nick and I really mean it. But...I wanted to be closer to you as well, because the truth is...I don't want to be afraid, especially towards you."

I looked at Carrots in astonishment, surprised to hear that kind of confession; this was the same rabbit who managed to beat all the odds that were stacked up against her to become the first cop in Zootopia and she was one of the bravest person I have ever known. She chased down small-time perps on her spare time, socked a few unlucky bastards who dared to underestimate her and even got involved in a shootout with Swift today. I never imagined that someone like Judy would still have insecurities and doubts, even after she and I have gotten to known each other since we first met.

"This is very serious right there," I quietly said to myself, before a thought occurred to me. _'Maybe she shouldn't be here at all. It's starting to feel like a burden for her, especially if I'm around her all the time. But what can I do to make her feel better?'_

I continued to ponder that question as hard as I could, trying to find the answer to it. Eventually, I think I found my answer, as I faced Judy once more.

"Do you...want to go back to your place?" I asker her sympathetically.

"...To be honest, I really don't know what I want to do right now."

"Alright then," I accepted Judy's answer and silence filled up the room again. Neither of us didn't say anything to each other and I'm not so sure if we could even continue this conversation. Every time we spoke to each other, it was becoming more and more awkward; worst, our friendship was deeply affected by our uneasiness and I don't know what to do about it. Finally, I couldn't stand the silence anymore and I had to say something to break it.

"I'm pretty sure it's a bad idea to let you stay here with me, Judy, but that's up to you," I knew it was probably going to bite me later if I did let her stay, but it was also going to bite me if I didn't, so it was a lose-lose all situation the way through. Might as well wing it instead.

Carrots didn't respond back to my question, though, still looking down on the floor, while I waited for a response from her. Finally, she gave me her answer.

"I'll stay here for one more night, but we'll see if things improve by tomorrow."

"I understand, then" I simply told her, but deep down, I was sad how this night was starting to turn out for us. We failed to be honest to each other from day one and because of it, things have gotten much more awkward for us to hang around in the same room.

With our conversations over, we both headed back into our own bedrooms, but we didn't bother looking at one another or even say "good night" like we usually do. Once I got into my bedroom, I locked the door behind me, switched into my pajamas and laid down on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. I didn't feel the urge to sleep after what happened. How could one night end up as fuck as hell?

 _'There must be something that I could to fix this, but what can I do that can make us feel better?'_ I started to wonder, trying to figure out what would be very helpful to me and Carrots. Then, an idea came to me. _'Of course! Since we're both having day offs tomorrow, we can just spend the day together and do something that can break the awkwardness between us. I don't want to lose my friendship with her, but hopefully we can work this out together.'_

Spending a day with Carrots sounded like a great idea at the moment; instead of worrying about how we're feeling towards each other, we should focus on having a good time together, just like what we did two days ago at the movies. But then, I realized there was another problem I didn't think of until now.

 _'How do I break the awkwardness between us? I wanted to make tomorrow something special, but I have no clue on what the could be. I certainly can't use the movie gimmick from Saturday. It'll just be another rehash and only remind Carrots of our current predicament instead. Still, I need to come up with an idea. If I don't, my friendship with her might as well go down the shithole. I need to make sure that won't happen.'_

With this in mind, I pulled my phone out of my trousers and started looking around on the web for something very extraordinary, starting off my search on Goggles, checking for something that was worth trying out. The first result I got, however, was less than idealistic.

"Too simple," I muttered and checked up on the next result. What I saw didn't pleased me either.

"Too childish," I removed that result and checked the next result to...what the hell is this?!

"Hell no!" I quickly removed the result as fast as I could. I wanted to make my day with Carrots special, not racy!

I continued to look up at one result after another and remove them as soon as I was done with them. None of them were quite appealing that would help me and Carrots out. Finally, after a long time of searching, I found something that could be the solution to my problem and I couldn't help but smile at it.

"Perfect."


	13. Laying Bare

**Chapter 13: Laying Bare**

Last night was the most awkward moment that ever happened to us, ever. I was mad at Nick for going behind my back. Not only did he invaded my privacy and sanctuary, but he had to get nosy about my problems. To be fair, though, I wasn't honest with him from day one, but I still wished he had asked me first instead of sticking his nose where it doesn't belong. I get he's concerned but seriously, why my panties? I didn't get that much sleep after that awkward moment other than a vague state of consciousness that's not quite awake but definitely not asleep. Though when morning did come, I smelled something good.

"What is that?" I muttered, as I groggily got out of my bed and went into the living room. "I bet Nick is behind this."

"Hey Carrots, ready for some cricket pancakes and hash browns for breakfast?" once my vision cleared up after a good rubbing, I saw Nick in the kitchen, cooking the food he mentioned seconds ago on the stove. Breakfast, however, was not what I had in mind for the moment.

"Nick, about what happened last night-" was all I could say, before he suddenly cut me off.

"What's done is done, Judy. It's time to move on. Besides, we have a whole new day to look forward to and we're going to fix the mess we got ourselves in," Nick's cheerful response not only surprised me, but I also got suspicious about it as well.

"How are you going to pull that one off?" I asked, taking a seat at the table.

"It's a surprise, Carrots, you'll see. You might hate me for it first, but once you come around, you'll agree that it was a good idea in the end. Don't worry, I got it all taken care of." Not exactly the most reassuring thing Nick's ever said to me.

Soon, Nick was done cooking and put some cricket pancakes and hash browns onto an empty plate and served them to me, before he put some on another plate for himself and sat at the table. I stared at my own meal for a few seconds, before I felt my stomach growling in hunger and I promptly eat my meal, with Nick doing the same as well. Before long, I could feel my taste buds exploding with the flavors coming from my meal.

"How do you even make pancakes this good?" I asked Nick, who just smirked.

"Well, I can't reveal all my secrets. Somethings need to remain a trade secret," Nick winked at me, please to hear my reaction to his cooking.

I continued to eat my meal, feeling my anxiety within me washed away with one bite after another. We finished eating breakfast in relative silence but neither of us seemed to care as we just chowed down on our food.

"So, how was it?" Nick asked, despite knowing the answer already. "Come on, you can tell me."

"You know, Nick..." I began. "You should stop fishing for compliments. People might think you're insecure."

"Maybe I am," Nick insisted. "I couldn't survive without people telling me how amazing I am at everything," Nick spoke as he entered that melodramatic mode he liked to bust out.

"...It's was okay, that's all," I tried to underplay it but he didn't really seem to upset about it.

"Why Judy, thank you," Nick acted like it was the nicest thing anyone had ever told him. "I'm glad to see the fruits of my labor are impressing you,"

"Alright, that's enough," I said, rolling my eyes to his poor performance. Nick pretty much completely changed back to his normal self before he began to change the subject.

"Now that breakfast is done, it's time to get ready," Nick announced, taking both plates from the table and putting them in the sink.

"Get ready for what, Nick?" I asked, wondering what he had in stored for us.

"Something that I planned out for us today and hopefully that it could repair the awkwardness and fear between us."

"How do you know if it will…" before I could finished my sentence, Nick cut me off again..

"Just trust me on this and give this idea a chance."

"I think you're trying too hard at this," I was starting to get scared, especially seeing how Nick could be so confident about it, yet be a bit terrified of his own plan at the same time. The way I was behaving, however, soon caught his attention.

"Judy, this might be the bad way of going about things to help mend the awkwardness we created after what happened last night but it seems like it could work if we both try. I just want to put that incident behind me. Don't you?"

"Of course I do," I replied. "You're my best friend, Nick, but I'll admit, it's probably going to take a lot to get rid of the nightmares."

"Well if I have to take a black eye to help, I will. Which is why we're doing what I have planned," Nick spoke as his confidence seemed to be more apparent. I nodded in agreement, before smirking at Nick. "I don't think you have much to lose. Your face is ugly enough without my help."

"Ha ha, very funny," Nick mockingly replied back. "Anyway, we have to get ready to leave."

With this in mind, Nick and I went through our usual morning routine, brushing out teeth, taking a shower and putting on our casual outfits, before we headed downstairs. After several long minutes, we finally arrived at the first floor, where I actually noticed a list of complaints on the owner's counter. It better be for the damn elevator. We headed out of the apartment building and straight towards Nick's car, as I took the passenger side, while Nick took the driver's side. Before he started the car, though, he suddenly looked at me.

"Promise me that you won't freak out when we get there, Carrots."

"Nick, you're doing it again-" I tried to tell him he was scaring me again with how concerned with his own plan he was.

"Promise me that you won't freak out when we get there, Carrots. Please?" I don't know why he would say something like that, but Nick sounded quite serious about it. I sighed and raised my hand up, like I was taking the stand in court.

"I swear that I won't freak out when we get there, Nick."

"That's all I'm asking for," Nick said through a chuckle, satisfied with my answer, before he turned the car on and we drove off to who knows where.

"So, where are you taking me to?" I asked, remaining curious, before I noticed that we were in a section of Zootopia that I was familiar with, but I couldn't put my finger on why exactly.

"It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you," Nick informed me. "But first, cover your eyes."

 _'Oh boy. Way to inspire confidence, Nick,'_ I sarcastically thought, before I covered my eyes with my own ears, while Nick continued to drive. After about two minutes of covering my eyes, I could feel the car coming to a halt, followed by the engine shutting down, so I do know that we were at our destination.

"Alright, now you can uncover your eyes."

I did just that and uncovered my eyes; in front of me was a certain place I thought we would never be back again.

"You have gotta to be fucking kidding me!" I shouted out loud, not even caring about language. Right in front of me was none other than the Mystical Spring Oasis, the same building that Nick and I went to during the Night Howler incident eight months ago! I could feel myself becoming furious with each passing second, as I turned around and glared at Nick.

"You promised you wouldn't freak out," a nervous Nick tried to explain but to hell with that promise!

" **THIS** was your plan to help all along?!" what the hell was Nick even thinking?! Oh, that's right, he wasn't thinking at all!

"I have a perfectly good reason to bring you here!" he insisted, raising his hands defensively.

"You damn well better have one, Nick!" I demanded, before he cleared his throat and offered his explanation.

"Ever since the drama we had from last night, the awkwardness between us had only gotten bigger and I felt that the only way to fix this it is by working through with it, one step at a time."

"By going to a nudist club?" I sarcastically asked as I raised an eyebrow.

"'Naturalist' club and I prefer the term 'loosening up', Carrots," Nick jokingly said otherwise.

"But what about the other guests?" I nervously asked. "The last thing I wanted is to be surrounded by a bunch of naked people again. While I too am naked!"

"I've taken care of that problem already," Nick assured me. "I managed to book a private room for first timers like us."

Hearing this should have calmed me down at least a little, but it did not by a long shot. Still, at least I know it'll be just be me and Nick and in one place too, unlike our last visit.

"Don't worry too much about it, Judy," said Nick, as he got out of the car. "There are chairs set up in the private room in a specific way, so we won't actually be looking at each other and it'll help make us feel comfortable together."

"I still don't like the idea," I disagreed, getting out of the car and following Nick "But if it does fix the mess we got ourselves into, then I'll give it a shot, Nick."

"At least you're giving it a chance," Nick simply stated, just as we arrived at the main entrance.

We made our way inside the Mystical Spring Oasis and sitting in the desk was Yax, the yak from last time, who hadn't changed that much since our last encounter. I swear, it looked like he never showered himself; then again, he might not have taken a bath at all. There are _flies_ living in his fur...

"Is that who I think it is?" Yax looked at us for a few seconds, before he gave us a wide smile. "It's been forever since you guys came by over here."

"It's only been like ten months, Yax," Nick pointed this out to him.

"It was ten months?" Yax looked rather dumbfounded. "It felt much longer than ten months to me, man."

"I'm sure it was ten months," I corrected Yax, who proceeded to scratch his ass like it was nothing, to my disgust.

"Say Yax, we've dropped by here for an appointment I made," Nick spoke up, defusing the already awkward conversation with Yax, who promptly looked through the ledger, before he spotted his name.

"Nick Wilde?" Yax asked him, as Nick simply nodding his head, causing our yak friend to smile back. "Nice that you're going all natural."

"It's not me that's trying it out today," Nick told Yax. "Judy is going to try it out as well."

"Really, now?" Yax sounded surprised by this. "Last time she was here, she didn't seem to like the way we live," he then shrugged his shoulders, dismissing it altogether. "Anyway, welcome to Mystical Spring Oasis. Hope you enjoy your stay here."

Much to my dismay, Yax was starting to get off from his desk, ready to show his ugly rear. This time, though, I was prepared for the unsettling sight, as I quickly looked down on the floor and focused on Nick's feet instead, before we both followed Yax to our private room.

"Just look down, just look down, just look down,"I quietly repeated to myself, not daring to look up, no matter what. It seemed to went on forever, but I saw Nick stopped in his tracks and I did the same as well, no doubt we finally arrived at our room.

"Here it is, my good man," Yax said, handing Nick the keys to the private room. "Thanks for taking the free trial today."

"No problem, Yax. Thank you for letting us have it to ourselves," Nick thanked him, before opening the door, allowing us to get in, with Nick locking the door behind us.

I took my gaze off of Nick's feet and saw the private room with my own eyes; it looked like some sort of spa room, but there were some slight differences in this room: there were aromatherapy candles laid out on the counter, with two folding screens for privacy with two separate doors behind the screens with two comfy chairs sitting right in the middle of the room. There were some light fixtures but none of them were in the center of the ceiling. The chairs, just as Nick said, were both facing the opposite direction from one another.

"Alright, here you go," Nick threw the keys to me, before pointing to a screen on the left side of the room. "I'll undress myself over here and you can have that side," he then pointed to the right side of the room.

"Wait? What?" I asked, before Nick went to the room to his left and locked the door behind him, leaving me with no choice but to take the room to my right, as I went behind the folding screen and lock the door behind me.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," I quietly cursed, before I began undressing myself, removing every article of clothing I had on me, including my unmentionables. After stripping down to nothing but fur and shame, I unlocked the door and poked my head out, looking for Nick.

"Nick, are you done yet?" I called out for him, before I spotted a paw waving back at me from the chair facing away from me.

Once I saw his paw, I covered my eyes, quickly went to the empty chair behind him and sat down, before I looked at the floor and nervously fidgeted with my paws. My cheeks and ears burned with the embarrassment of what I was doing. Why did I agree to this? Not only was I completely naked, but so was Nick _in the same room._

"Relax Carrots, no one is going to see us, even if they wanted to," he spoke back.

"I know, Nick," I said to him. "It's just that, it's weird being in the same room with you like this," I then decided to change the subject right away. "So what exactly is next?"

I waited for Nick to answer my question, but he didn't respond back. Maybe he hadn't thought ahead of what kind of activities we should be checking out. Did he even think he would get me to do this? Eventually, though, he did speak up after a long silence.

"Check this out and see what's interesting in there,' Nick handed me a pamphlet to check out, as I grabbed it, opened it up and began looking at the various activities available at Mystic Springs Oasis. They had a massage parlor, yoga, swimming sports like water polo, dry land sports as well, a steam room, a lot actually. This place might as well just be a spa resort.

"Let's try something small first," I suggested, skimming through the activities from the pamphlet, but some of them were too silly or embarrassing for us to do.

"Playing volleyball out in the nude? Count me out," I looked at the next activity to below it and I frowned at it

"Yeah, tennis isn't going to cut out either. I have a feeling we'd get turf burn," I checked the next activity and...oh my, I can't believe what I was reading.

"Swimming is definitely not on the 'to-do list'," it'll certainly feel like taking a bath, but filled with many more people in it instead.

I continued to look through each activity from the pamphlet that seemed to be both interesting and fun, but none of them clicked with me. After flipping through the pamphlet, I knew I had to pick something or Nick will pick one for me and I am NOT letting him pick.

"How about we try yoga?"

"Let me see," I showed the pamphlet to Nick and pointed it to him to where I found the activity. "That won't be for a few hours, Carrots."

"It will at least it'll give me some time to summon the courage to walk around in the nude until then."

"Take as much time then and I should do the same as well," Nick said, still sitting on his seat and not facing me.

"...Are you nervous about this?" I curiously asked.

"Of course I am," Nick insisted, glancing back at me. "After all, I'm sitting naked in the same room with my best friend and partner who is also naked."

"If you're so nervous about this, then why did you think this was such a good idea then?" I questioned Nick, crossing my arms.

"I figure that if you were comfortable around me, Carrots, at least your nightmare and your discomfort about me would go away and they won't bother you anymore."

"But what made you so sure that being naked together would really help us?"

"I thought that getting us together in an even more awkward position would at least help us get through it together and what we thought was awkward before will be cake afterwards. We could put that crap behind us for good. I don't want it to bother either of us and we should deal with it now," Nick explained, with a hint of sadness from his voice.

My eyes widen in amazement and I was left speechless, surprised by how serious Nick really was; I still didn't approve of him taking me to the Mystical Spring Oasis, but he really wanted to help me out in any way he could.

 _'Gee, I never knew Nick would go this far for my sake,'_ I thought. _'Even if he did dragged me in a very embarrassing situation, I guess it's the thought that counts. Besides, I could leave here any time I want to. After all, he did gave me the key to begin with…'_ I soon trailed off once I realized what I had just thought. _'Oh no, I'm locked in the same room with Nick.'_

Suddenly, my heart began to beat much faster than usual, my face began to burn even more and I was starting to breath heavily. The way I was behaving, though, caught Nick's attention, glancing back to see what was going on.

"Judy, I won't hurt you. I promise," once Nick assured me, I stopped hyperventilating and started to calm myself down, or at least, the best I could.

"Sorry Nick. I'm just trying to prevent my wild imagination getting the best of me," I tried explaining to him. "Especially since we're locked in the same room together."

"Judy, I locked the door behind us and gave you the key on purpose," Nick explained with a serious tone. "If you want to put your clothes back on and head back home, then go right ahead. After finishing his explanation, I became quiet and pondered on what I should do next.

 _'If I leave right now, I won't have to come back here ever again,'_ I thought, before I frowned at myself. _'But if I did that, I will probably be even longer before Nick and I can work through the uneasiness that we put ourselves into and this situation might only get worst if this keeps up. It might even continue to be bother us for a long time. Is that what I really want to happen?'_

I continued to ponder about my decision, before I sighed and finally gave Nick my answer.

"I'll stick around and go through with this. I mean it," I replied, as I turned to face the chair and not directly at Nick.

"If you're serious about this, then you'll have to look at me straight in the eyes, Carrots," I gulped nervously in response. If I have any sweat glands right now, I would be in a cold sweat by now.

"Alright, I can do this. I just have to look at Nick to show that I'm serious," I took a deep breath as we both stood up and I slowly forced myself to face Nick, first facing his feet, then his legs and then his...

 _'I didn't think that was as bad as I thought it would be. His private parts aren't there, but tt looked like they were covered in fur…'_ when I realized what I had just thought, I gave myself a mental slap. _'GAH! What are you thinking, Judy?! I'm suppose to be looking at Nick's face, not his noodle!'_ I then quickly forced myself to look away from it and faced Nick faced first at last, who simply looked at me with amusement.

"That wasn't bad now, was it?," Nick asked, before shrugging his shoulders. I'm just glad I was now staring at his face and not down on his shame instead, but it doesn't help the situation much one bit, as it was still weird for me for doing this. It was one of many, many steps to take, but it was also one of many that I'll have to overcome.

"Now, do you wanna sit down?" Nick took the chair I previously sat on and put it right next to his chair, before tapping the same chair for me to join in. I look at my chair first, then to Nick and back at the chair again. I was still nervous, of course, but I didn't want to say no to Nick either, so I simply sat right next to him instead.

"This is more like it," Nick said, as he pulled out a remote out of nowhere and pressed the topmost button on it. Suddenly, the roof parted ways, revealing the skylight and showing the daytime sky above us. "Want some fresh air, Carrots?"

"I'm not ready to go out just yet," I declined.

"If you say so," Nick then pressed down another button on the remote, causing the window from the skylight to open up, allowing the fresh air from the outside to come into the room.

"How does it feel now, Judy?"

"I'm still uneasy, but I'm starting to feel more comfortable with this."

"At least something is working out," Nick mused.

"How are you feeling, Nick?" I asked.

"Oh, I'm feeling pretty good right now," Nick replied slyly. "It takes time getting used to it and you should do the same eventually."

"What exactly did you do to feel this comfortable?" I just had to wonder.

"Judy, it's not like I haven't seen a naked woman up close before," Nick calmly said.

"And I suppose that the same woman ended up slapping you for your trouble," I mockingly said back, causing Nick to laugh in response.

"That didn't happen until after we started to date."

"I bet that went well for you," I can only imagine that date ended disastrously for Nick.

"I maybe suave and handsome, but it appears that most vixens seem immune to my charms," Nick acted like he was god's gift for women.

"Being a pervert isn't a charming trait, ya know," I countered, shaking my head with disagreement.

"Me, a pervert? I'm shocked you would say that," Nick acted like his feelings got hurt.

"You went through my underwear drawer and took me to a nudist club," I pointed this out to him. "That's perversion right there."

" _Naturalist_ club, Carrots, and everyone has a bit of perversion within themselves. Heck, I bet you're a closet pervert yourself," the moment Nick said this, I felt my face blushing with embarrassment.

"I'll let you know that I'm no pervert!" I objected to such a label.

"Then why were you looking for my junk three minutes ago?" Nick asked, arching his eyebrow at me, causing me to cringe in disgust.

"Don't...remind me...of that!" I told Nick through my gritted teeth.

Soon, Nick began to laugh at my reaction...and before long, I started to laugh along with him. All of a sudden, the awkwardness between us seemed to just disappear. Hell, I could care less that Nick and I happened to be naked in the same room either. Everything about it was just so ridiculous now that it wrapped around to be okay.

"Alright, alright, that's enough laughing," Nick said, as we calmed ourselves down. "How about we get some massages instead? It's twenty minutes from now."

"That sounds like a good idea," I agreed, although I was still nervous being surrounded by naked people.

"I'm glad to hear that. Massages always makes anything bad go away, no matter how horrible," Nick quipped.

"Then let's head there right now," I said, before we both stood up and left our private room and headed straight for the massage parlor, with me silently hoping to avoid as many people as possible.

As strange as this may sound, coming to the Mystical Spring Oasis may not have been such a bad idea after all.


	14. Day at Peace

**Chapter 14: Day at Peace**

Today may have gotten off to a rocky start for Carrots and I, but at least we have each other for company. Normally, we would go anywhere and everywhere without a hitch, but ever since we step foot into the Oasis, she was trying really hard to hide from everyone, sticking way close behind me, while I was leading her to the massage parlor. I took one glance at her and she was nervous as fuck.

"Relax, Judy. We're not the only ones walking around in the nude. Everyone's shame is out in the open like yours and mine," I did my best to calm Carrots down.

"I'm still not used to walking around naked," Carrots expressed her discomfort, as we both headed to a nearby map and took a look at it to see which path was the fastest to go to. I looked back at Carrots again and sure enough, she was still embarrassed as she used pretty much anything she could find for cover.

"You're acting like a child," I sighed exasperatedly and shook my head, causing Carrots to glare back at me.

"I'm not proud of walking around in the nude, Nick!" she retorted, just loud enough that I could hear but no one else could. "More importantly, how could you be so calm about this?! Aren't you ashamed one bit?!"

"That's because the number of people whose opinions I care about are outnumbered by the number of pads on my left paw," I countered. "Besides, I'm use to people making hateful remarks about me throughout my life, so walking in the nude for me might as well be a walk in the park." Carrots' expression seemed to change after my little speech.

"...You know what? If you can do it, then so can I," Carrots was showing a bit of confidence, as she took a deep breath and walk right beside me, showing herself for all to see. As soon as she did, though, Judy was speechless to see that no one in the room seemed interested or even looked the naked rabbit in front of them.

"What's wrong, Carrots? Not getting the attention you were expecting?" I teased my friend, holding back my laughter, before I saw her face blushing red like a tomato, even through her fur.

"O-Of course not, Nick!" Carrots angrily denied.

"Whatever you say," I teased her further. "Anyway, we're almost at the massage parlor."

I pointed down to the hallway to show Carrots where it was located, as she looked to my direction and saw the place for herself, much to her relief.

"Oh thank god," she said, betraying that confidence she had before Carrots and I headed down to our destination. But as soon as we walked in, we were greeted at the sight of two capybara masseuses (one slightly taller than the other) getting into some personal arguments.

"I know it was your goddamn fault for recording over The Lumbering Undead a few days ago, Andrew!" the slightly taller capybara accused the shorter capybara.

"I keep telling you, Adrian, it wasn't me! Why would I want to record over your lame ass show?! Besides, I bet you were the one who recorded over The Large Blast Hypothesis last week!" Andrew snorted, as his slightly taller friend got offended.

"You take that back!"

"Make me!"

"Oh, I'll make you, right after I kick your-"

 **"AHEM!"** I loudly cleared my throat up, getting both of the masseuses' attentions, who ceased their arguments and focused their attentions at us instead.

"Welcome to the Mystic Springs Oasis massage parlor!"

"How may we help you?" The two looked completely different from before as their cheerful faces were a far cry from the anger they had a minute ago.

 _'...Alrighty then,'_ I thought to myself. Carrots and I were weirded out that Andrew and Adrian were suddenly acting like chums after arguing with each other a few seconds ago. Of course, we didn't call them out on it; after all, we were here to relax.

"My friend and I are taking a free trial today and we were wondering if we could try out the massage," I showed them the pamphlet to the masseuses, pointing to today's activities.

"Sure, we could do that," said Andrew.

"Come right this way and get ready to relax," Adrian said, leading us to the massage tables and allowing Carrots and I to lay down on them, face first. "Now, what kind of massage would you two be having?"

"Good old fashioned back rub for me," I requested.

"I'll have feet massage," Carrots added her choice.

"Good choices," Andrew happily replied.

"You two won't be regretting this!" Adrian announced, before he massaged my back, while Andrew massaged Carrots' feet. I'll admit. This was a very good massage.

"Oh yeah, this is more like it," Carrots calmly spoke up.

"I'm so glad you're loving it," Andrew appreciated her compliment.

"I don't know about you, Carrots, but I can feel my left shoulder feeling much better than it was a few days back," I could feel my shoulder loosening up with each massage.

"Yeah, it seemed very stiff," Adrian noted. "How did that happened?"

"It was due to an…accident that I got from work the other day," I vaguely answered.

"The same work that we go to all the time," Carrots added.

"What kind of work do you two do for a living?" Andrew asked.

"It's nothing special, really," I insisted.

"Plus, we're both off from work today and we just want to enjoy ourselves," said Judy.

"In that case, let's make your experience more enjoyable then," Andrew happily stated.

"Anything to make your guys' day special," Adrian enthusiastically added.

"Thank you," we both thanked them, who continued to massage us for a few more minutes, though it felt much longer. Once our time at the massage parlor was up, we felt very invigorated from the experience and soon departed from the place.

"Later," I bid my farewell.

"You two have a nice day," Carrots added, as we continued down the hallway.

"So Judy, do you want to do some yoga now?"

"Nick, that won't be for another two hours," Once she pointed this out, I stopped in my tracks and pondered for a moment. Eventually, I looked back at Judy with a smirk.

"Well, we could always go take a dip." Carrots looked like I just dropped a book on her foot before shaking her head quickly.

"Oh no! I am NOT getting in a public pool with naked people!" Well, we couldn't have that.

"Don't worry. I'm sure no one will even notice we're there. Like I said before, no one is going to care about a naked rabbit at a naturalist club." Judy's expression softened as I tried to reason with her.

"...Is swimming really part of today's schedule?" Carrots curiously asked me.

"The pool is open all day, so anyone can use it," I replied honestly, before I arched an eyebrow. "You're still not nervous about swimming around with naked strangers, are you?"

"Actually, yes, I am," Carrots admitted. "I don't like the idea of swimming in the water and accidentally see everyone's noodles hanging down. I have to bleach my brain if that happened."

"You saw _my_ junk today and you didn't complain about it much, Carrots," I pointed this out to her.

"I saw it by accident, Nick!" Carrots bashfully insisted, while I grin back. "Besides, there wasn't much to see anyway."

 _'You did not just say that!'_ I felt my pride took a bullet to the heart by that offhanded comment. It was the last thing I expected to hear from Carrots. "I'll let you know it's still there! I don't even know what you're talking about!"

"I might as well use a microscope to see exactly where it is," Carrots insulted back, leaving me more flustered than ever.

"Well I...you see...what I meant to say…"

I tried to insult Carrots back, but nothing came right out of my mouth. It was like someone tied my tongue and prevented me from saying the right words. Unable to come up with any witty banter, I sighed in defeat and looked back at Judy, who gave me a smug look. I hate when she just flips the table on me.

"Not so high and mighty now, are you, Nick?"

"Keep telling yourself that Carrots," I deadpanned, though Judy retained her smugness. "I'll get the last laugh sooner or later."

"In your dreams, Nick," Carrots spoke amusingly. "Anyway, let's head over to the pool."

"Sure, whatever you say," I simply agreed and we headed over for the pool. It took us almost a few minutes, but we arrived at the pool area and it was not as crowded as we had imagined it to be; in fact, there were only a total of fifteen people using the pool.

"Thank goodness there's not that many people out here," Carrots spoke up.

"I don't think anyone would care anyway," I reminded Carrots, as she started to relax a little. I couldn't help but be pleased that she was becoming less squeamish since we first got here. I headed over to the edge of the pool to get a closer look at it. But out of nowhere, there was a slight push behind me.

 **"WHOA!"** I tried to regain my balance, only to tumbled down to the water instead. I immediately resurfaced back up from the water, gasping for air, before I heard what sounded like snickering. I turned around to see that it was coming from Carrots, of all people.

"You should have seen the look on your face!" Carrots continued to laugh, while I stared at her, completely unamused. Eventually, I silenced her laughter by splashing some water back in her direction.

"Hey, cut that out!" Judy objected, getting some water off of her fur.

"Who's laughing now?" I smirked, as Carrots made her way down to the steps. Unfortunately for her, I made my move again; this time, I grabbed her by the arm and quickly pulled her into the water.

 **"EEK!"** she yelped, as Judy fell into the water below thanks to yours truly, flapping her arms out and thrashing all over the place. After getting her bearings, she glared at me for my dirty tactic. But then, she grinned right back at me.

"You're not the only who could play dirty!" Carrots immediately splashed water at my face, blinding me for a few seconds; once my vision cleared up and spit out some of the water out of my mouth, I looked back at her, once again unimpressed.

"Only I'm allow to do that."

"I beat you to it first," Judy begged to differ, before she realized something. "Is it even safe to splash one another with pool water?"

"Don't worry about it, Carrots. The water here isn't treated with chlorine," I began explained. "The Mystic Oasis used lake water for the pool instead."

"How did they do that?" she was astonished that it was even possible...

"The website didn't say but it's not like it's really important. Let's just relax and enjoy ourselves," I replied, before splashing water at Carrots' face as payback, who proceeded to wipe some of it from her eyes. A few seconds later, she looked back at me with her game face.

"It's on!" she declared and splashed water back at me, before splashing water back at her and suddenly, we were starting to not care who splashed whom.

Before long, everyone around the swimming pool took notice and began to join in, splashing one another with the pool water, laughing the day away. I didn't noticed this at the time, but the sudden awkwardness we had from last night was no longer there between me and Judy. In fact, we were acting like best friends once more, just like before all the craziness happened and that was all I could ever asked for.

 _'Now this is more like it!'_ I happily thought, as I continued to have fun with my friend as long as possible. Eventually, though, a lifeguard had to break up the fun after someone nearly drowned in the pool, prompting everyone, including us, to leave, but at the same time, feeling quite satisfied.

"So Carrots, how was it?" I asked.

"I'll admit, I haven't had this much fun in ages," she happily replied, before I saw an empty hot tub nearby.

"Do you want to check out the hot tub?" I asked, before Carrots and I started to shiver, the cold water from the pool starting to give us chills.

"Yeah let's do that," Carrots replied.

"Right behind you," I added, before we immediately hopped into the hot tub to warm ourselves up. After we settled down, the heat from the hot tub started to warm us up and the cold chill we had earlier started to disappear, much to our satisfaction.

"As warm as this hot tub is, I bet we'll freeze in seconds if we got out," I joked.

"We might as well be frozen statues too," Carrots added, as I chuckled back, before I looked around and saw a rack full of towels not far from where the door was.

"On the plus side, at least we don't have to dry ourselves the old fashioned way," I happily joked.

"Your fur would probably make you look poofy anyway, Nick," Judy sly said.

"I'll still look good even with my fur all poofed up Carrots," I smirked back at her.

"Sure Nick, keep telling yourself that. It might end up being true"

"Who knows, Carrots. Anything could happen."

We spend a few more minutes at the hot tub before we felt warm enough from the heat; we got up from the tub, took the towels nearby and started to dry ourselves up. I looked at the clock hanging in the hallway to see what time it was once more.

"Looks like we got an hour left before yoga," I noted the time on the clock. "What do you want to do until then, Carrots?"

"Mind if I check the pamphlet first?" she asked, as I looked for it near the pool area. However, it wasn't there at all.

"Where could I have put it?" I wondered for a few seconds, before I realized where I have left the pamphlet. "Goddammit, I must have left it back at the massage parlor," I quietly cursed myself, before facing Carrots. "Hang on, Carrots, I'll be right back."

"Actually, can I come with you? I'm still not comfortable being left alone just yet."

"Sure," I said, as Carrots accompanied me back to the massage parlor. Once we got there, we saw Andrew and Adrian were looking at us rather smugly and already, I don't like the way they were looking at us one bit.

"Forgot something?" Adrian asked, holding out the pamphlet that I accidentally left behind.

"Ha ha, very funny," I mockingly replied, as Adrian handed me back my pamphlet and both Carrots and I turned around headed down the hallway, but not before we heard the two capybaras laughing out loud.

"If they weren't working here, I don't know what I'd do to them," I vowed.

"Forget about them, Nick. Let them have their fun," Carrots insisted. "Anyway, since yoga won't be starting for a while, let's chill out in our room."

"I have no problem with it," I agreed and we head back to our private room. Once we got arrived back to our room, I pulled the key that I hid from one of the potted plants.

"Why did you hide the key in there, Nick?" Carrots curiously asked.

"I didn't have pockets on me, so I had to put it somewhere that I know I can find but where no one would look for it in," I replied, shrugging my shoulders.

"Good thing it wasn't in your ass or I would have washed my hands all day," Carrots cringed at the idea of our key being hidden elsewhere.

"If that happened, I probably would have ended up in a hospital," I deadpanned, as I unlocked the door.

"I'll admit, that sorta sounds funny, Nick," Carrots began to snicker.

"No, it wouldn't," I disagreed. " _I_ would be the one shitting keys," this caused Carrots to laugh much harder now.

"That would be even more funnier! I bet everyone at ZPD, even Chief Bogo, would get a laugh at it!"

"Yeah, internal bleeding isn't what I would call funny," I informed her, before Carrots finally calmed herself down.

"Sorry about that, Nick," she sheepishly apologized, before I opened the door and we both entered the room, as I locked said door behind us. I sat at my chair, while Judy sat right next to me.

"So, is there anything you want to talk about?" Carrots asked me.

"I do, actually," I replied. "How do you feel about me now, Carrots?"

"I'm quite comfortable being around with you again. I don't feel all stressed out like last few days," Carrots answered sincerely.

"That's what I wanted to hear," I said, smiling at Carrots. "Do you think I came up with a good idea now?"

"Even though I don't feel going all natural anytime soon...I'll admit, this was a very good idea," Carrots replied, smiling back at me in return.

"Hope that means you don't have to worry about me doing anything bad to you now."

"After today, I have nothing to worry about anymore."

"Then it looks like today was a resounding success," I declared, pleased that I managed to finally end this ridiculousness. "Once we're done with yoga, we can go out for a drink or two before head back home. Hell, my treat."

"Are you sure it's wise to drink before we head back to work tomorrow?" Carrots cautiously asked.

"I know a trick regarding drinks, Carrots," I assured her. "We just need to pick some fruit juice along the way."

"Does the fruit juice happened to be alcoholic in nature?" Carrots remained unconvinced.

"This will be normal juice, since there are few nutrients that can affect the liver," I explained. "Afterwards, we just need some water and food."

As if on cue, Carrots' stomach began to growl, hungering for something to feast on.

"We'll...we could grab something to eat first when we're done with yoga."

"As long as we have a good dinner and a good breakfast, while staying properly hydrated, they'll be fine," I assured her that everything will be alright.

"Sounds good then," Carrots agreed. "After all, we need to stay fit and not be slobs at work."

"Though it'll be a while before we rid ourselves of our hangover, so we'll have to adjust the alarms as compensation," I pointed out.

"Then maybe we shouldn't get so shitfaced," Carrots suggested, before she looked at the clock hanging on the wall. "Looks like we got half an hour until yoga."

"Do you want to go now or wait a bit longer?" I asked.

"Let's wait here for a few more minutes, Nick. Right now, I want to relax under the sun," Carrots replied.

"That sounds like a good plan."

Soon, we were relaxing under the sun, enjoying warm ray that hit our fur and happily chatting as well. A few more minutes would passed by, before we looked at the clock to see we only have a few minutes left. Despite our reluctance, it was time for us to head out.

"Looks like this is it then," Carrots let out a sigh.

"It was fun while it lasted," I let out a sigh as well.

We both got up, opened the door and locked it behind us and headed out to the hallway after putting the key away in the plant, making our way to the open area, where yoga class was about to start. This time, though, Carrots did her best not to stand out like last time, trying to keep to herself which basically allowed her to blend in better. At the same time, she was looked around, as if she was looking for someone.

"Looking for someone?" I plainly asked.

"I was honestly expecting Mr. Otterton to show up for the yoga class," Carrots admitted. "Guess he isn't here today."

"I'm sure he has his reasons," I commented. "Though I am wondering who will be teaching yoga today."

"Good afternoon, everyone," Carrots and I turned around and saw a certain elephant in the open area.

"You have got to be kidding me," Carrots and I were dismayed to see that our instructor for today was none other than Nangi, who we briefly talked to during the Night Howler incident. It wasn't like she was bad or anything, but she was quite forgetful when we first met her. The fact she will be instructing yoga will make this experience anything but fun for either of us.

"I hope everyone are rested up, came back from lunch or whatever. Anyway, yoga time."

 _'Oh boy, this is going to be fun,'_ I sarcastically thought..

Nangi, despite not remembering anything last time we were here, knew exactly what she was doing when it came to yoga as she led us through some starting stretches before she finally started to teach some actual moves and how to properly execute them...more or less. My body apparently wasn't made to bend certain ways. Before long, we were stretching and flexing our back, arms, legs and even our tails. I stretched both my arms and legs and flexed my back, while Carrots was bending her legs and flexing from side to side. I took a quick glance at Carrots and for some reason, she was not only a natural, but was quite graceful at it. _'Gee, I never thought Carrots would be so flexible,'_ I thought to myself. _'For someone so small, she sure knows how to-'_

Suddenly, I felt a certain twinge coming from...down below. It took a few seconds for me to realize what it was, much to my embarrassment.

 _''Oh, shit!'_ I silently panicked. _'It had to show up at the wrong time! I can't let anyone see me like this!'_

"Nick, what's wrong?" I turned around and glanced at Carrots again. I need to come up with an excuse pretty quickly.

"I, uh, have to get to the bathroom real quick!" I tried my best not to seem suspicious but I couldn't tell if Carrots bought it before I left for the nearest restroom.

"If you say so then," Carrots accepted my excuse with a nod, as I quickly headed to the nearest bathroom as fast as I could.

 _'Was I just turned on by Judy?!'_


	15. A Safe Bet

**Chapter 15: A Safe Bet**

Taking yoga class was such a breeze, as Nangi proved herself to be a natural instructor, despite her forgetfulness; she was teaching everyone how to stretch from side to side, which position to stretch and even bending into seemingly impossible positions. As a matter of fact, Nangi able to bend herself backwards with ease, despite her huge frame and came back upright, like it was nothing. Everyone were intrigued by this and tried to pull the same move as she did, including myself. However, that ended up being such a bad idea, as I almost sprained my back, forcing myself to get back upright. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for everyone else, as most of them looked like they were suffering from severe back injuries.

Because of that crazy stunt, yoga class ended on a painful note, as I walked right back to the room that Nick and I were using, only to see the door was no longer locked, much to my surprise.

 _'What's going on?'_ I rushed inside the room, just in time to be greeted by Nick...fully clothed and sitting on the chair, as if he was waiting for me to return from my session.

"You sure took your sweet time," Nick casually quipped.

"Nick, why are you lounging around here and why did you leave me by myself at yoga class?" I asked him, curious by his weird behavior a few minutes ago.

"...Like I said, I had to use the bathroom real badly and since yoga class was almost done, I didn't see the point of heading back," Nick felt rather uneasy with his answer, as if he didn't want to talk about it at all.

"That's a lame excuse but I guess I'll accept it for now," I told said, before I walked right into my room, ready to change back into my casual outfit.

"So Carrots, want a drink at the bar on our way back or stay at home and drink at my place instead?" Nick asked, facing away from the door, as I put on my underwear.

"Nick, if we go out to a bar and drink, we would make fools out of ourselves in public," I explained, putting on my pants. ' _Of course, drinking at your apartment doesn't sound so bad, but we might do something we could end up regretting later.'_

"Don't worry, Carrots. We'll just have two drinks at the bar. Nothing more and nothing less," Nick assured me.

"Actually, I prefer drinking at the apartment anyway," I insisted, putting my top on, before I got out of the room. "The last thing I want is to make an ass out of myself and Chief Bogo would be pissed off if we showed up at work with a hangover."

"Which is why I'll be around to make sure that won't happen," Nick acted like he was my shining knight in armor.

"Oh yeah, I feel so much better now," I snarked back.

"Now that was just plain mean, Judy," Nick pretended his feelings were hurt, before he took the key we used for the room we were in, before we went down to the hallway and into to the main lobby, handing it back to Yax.

"Thanks for coming by at Mystic Oasis. Hope we see you again," Yax bid us his farewell.

Nick and I bid him our farewells back, before we left the building and headed for Nick's car. The day would be quite and peaceful, if Nick didn't act so persistent with his suggestion.

"You sure you still don't want to drink at the bar? It's quite the colorful place, Carrots," he insisted, opening the driver's side and sat down, while I took the passenger side and sat next to him.

"Why do you want to go to the bar real badly, Nick? You asked what I want to do and I said it," Nick flinched at my response, like he took a bullet to the heart, much less expecting me to act that way. It's like he wasn't expecting me to ask. He went silent for a few seconds but I wasn't going to let him worm his way out of this.

"I'm waiting," I crossed my arms and stared him down for an answer.

"...You see, Carrots..." Nick began. "My throat was rather dried and Mystic Oasis didn't have any refreshments back there."

"Seriously?" I had never heard such an awful excuse from Nick, considering that he was an experienced con artist. I let him know I wasn't fooled by his white lie by frowning back, causing him to become even more nervous.

"Tell me why you really want to go to the bar to begin with," I demanded firmly, hoping to get an honest answer out of him.

"...Alright, I'll be honest," Nick sighed, rubbing his neck, before he explained. "If we both drank at my place, crazy shit might happened between us, if we could remember what we did at all."

Suddenly, I didn't feel mad anymore. Instead, I sympathized with Nick, who was just as uneasy about the situation as I was. Both of us were worry that something might go down if we had too much to drink. Naturally, it was my turn to assure him.

"Nick, why didn't you just say that? Don't worry, everything's gonna be fine. I'm sure it'll be just like any other night," Nick paused for a few seconds, before he looked at me and smiled.

"You might have a point right there."

"That's more like it," I was happy to get the old Nick back again.

"Since we'll be celebrating at my place, let's go pick up a few things, Carrots."

"For the record, I'm more of a wine girl," I simply said.

"Nah, you could totally handle straight vodka," Nick grinned, as I had to stop myself from laughing too loud. "Anyway, let's see what would be good to cook for today and tomorrow."

Nick reached down into his pocket, pulled his smartphone out and flipped through what looked like a list of recipes on the screen.

"Alright, Carrots. Let me know which of them sounds good for tonight," He handed me his phone and I looked down at the list of many recipes that it had on. There were so many to choose from, that I couldn't figure out which ones to try out. I started flipping through one recipe after another, trying to find something interesting to eat. After looking through the list for eternity I finally found one that we sounded too good to pass over.

"How about we try some carrot and black bean crispy tacos?"

"Man, I haven't made those in a long time. Then again, I never had a reason to make one until now since the recipe is based around making 8 servings of the things," Nick replied, shrugging his shoulders and taking back the phone. "But sure, we can do that for tonight."

"I haven't decided on what we should have for breakfast yet," I pointed this out to him.

"If you liked cricket pancakes, then I think you might be able to handle beetle omelettes," Nick quickly suggested.

 _'Beetle omelettes?!'_ I gulped nervously at the thought of eating another insect-based breakfast. Then again, the cricket pancakes Nick cooked were very delicious, so maybe I was jumping to conclusion.

"If the cricket pancakes were good, then the beetle omelettes might not be so bad either," I concluded, shrugging my worries away.

"You'll love them very much, Carrots. Plus, you got your own personal chef at the stove to do it," Nick happily grinned at me.

"I can agree to that," I approved, before we drove off to the streets and right into traffic. After a few minutes of driving around, we arrived at the local grocery store and began to do our grocery shopping, getting our wines and fruit juice first, before heading down to the fruits and vegetables section, taking some carrots, black beans, lettuces, radishes and celery.

"So far, so good," I said to myself, before I noticed some of the shoppers looking at Nick and me strangely. "I guess they're not use to seeing some ZPD officers do some grocery shopping."

We continued to shop around, getting some tortilla shells, beetles and eggs, but no matter where we go, every shopper we passed by were giving us the same strange looks from before.

"What the hell is going on with them?" I was confused by the way everyone were acting around here.

"Carrots, don't worry what they're thinking about. What we do is none of their concern," Nick calmly told me.

"You're right, Nick," I accepted his reasons, as we got in line. "It's just that, they might get the wrong idea about you and me. Everything that goes on between is strictly platonic." At least, that how I saw it.

"Well not everyone is a mind reader, Carrots. You can't expect them to instantly know what's going on," Nick assured me, before it was our turn and turned our attention to an aardvark cashier. But to my dismay, he was looking at us weirdly, just like everyone else.

 _'Oh, for fuck's sake!'_ I couldn't handle this anymore, but instead of freaking out on the spot, I hold my anger back and calmly asked him. "Is there something wrong?"

"Well, um, are you two...planning something special for tonight?" he nervously asked us.

Both Nick and I just looked at each other, like it was that worst question we had ever heard of, before Nick decided to give the cashier a piece of his mind.

"Yes, we're planning something special for tonight," he replied, slightly annoyed. "Do you have a problem with two friends having dinner together?"

"Not at all! Not one bit!" the aardvark cashier frantically insisted, waving his hands defensively. "I'm sorry if I was being rude about it!"

"It's alright there," Nick calmly assured him. "There's nothing to freak over about."

"Everyone makes assumptions all the time," I calmly added as well. "But you really need to be careful next time. Making assumption of what it really is could rub anyone the wrong way."

"Sure, I'll remind myself about that the next time," the cashier agreed, rubbing his neck in embarrassment, before we paid him for our groceries and took them outside, putting them in the back of Nick's car.

"That was the most awkward thing ever," I told Nick, as I sat at the passenger side.

"I know what you mean, Carrots. Of all the weird shit we encountered, this one takes the cake," Nick agreed, getting into the driver's side and starting the car, as we headed back home. Along the way, I couldn't help but think what that cashier had said about us.

 _'Do we really a couple? Did it really look like we were dating?'_ I glanced back at Nick, who was still driving, before I resumed with my thoughts.

 _'I guess it does makes sense, considering we were both butt naked together at Mystic Oasis, but that was to get rid of the awkwardness we had last night. The one back at the market, though, felt much different. Maybe that's why everyone at the grocery shop though we're in some sort of inter-species romance, but that can't be right. Nick's my best friend and I'm his friend too. At least, I hope that's the-'_

"Judy, we're here now," I snapped back into reality and saw that we've finally arrived back at the apartment. After parking his car at his usual spot, we both got out and took our groceries back to his place. Unfortunately, we have to carry our groceries by taking the staircase from hell; this was very problematic, since the apartment was on the seventh floor and the elevator had still yet to be fixed. By the time we finally got to Nick's place, we were fatigued.

"How long does it take to get someone to look at that elevator," I complained. "I can't handle walking back and forth like this!"

"He doesn't give a rat's ass about anyone's complaints. He's too lazy to do anything about it," Nick informed me. "But enough about that. I'll set up everything up in the kitchen, while you can relax."

"That sounds good to me," I agreed, as Nick took most of the groceries to the counter, making preparations for dinner, while I sat on the couch, turned on the TV and flipped through the channels, looking for something good to watch. After flipping through the many, _many_ channels Nick has, I caught a glimpse of a movie I thought I would never see again.

"Oh my gosh, it's Glamourous and the Monster!" I happily exclaimed. Sure, I heard some good things about the live-action version, but I always prefer the original, since I grew up watching it as a little kid.

"I can check this movie out for awhile, at least, until dinner is ready," I put the remote down on the table and glued my eyes onto the screen, watching this beloved animated classic again. As I continued to watch the movie, the room was slowly filling up with the aroma of the various vegetables that were being cooked by Nick.

"Dinner's ready, Carrots," he called out, as I happily got off from the couch, headed to the kitchen and took my seat at the table, as Nick served the tacos on the plate, poured some wines in our wine glasses and took a seat at the table as well, having already served some on his own plate.

"Here's a toast…" Nick began, raising his wine glass up. "To good health and leaving our awkwardness crap behind and all that other silly crap that people toast to."

 _'Nick, you goof!'_ I thought, raising my wine glass up and clinked them together, before we proceeded to eat our tacos and enjoyed ourselves...or at least, I try to enjoy myself.

 _'Should I have said something first before we ate or just eat regardless?'_ I wondered, taking a single bite out of my taco.

"Is something bothering you, Carrots?" I turned around and saw Nick looking at me with concern. I looked at him, then our meals and back at him, before I finally asked him this simple question.

"Do you feel like we're on a date?" Nick paused for a moment, before he answered back.

"Only if we make it feel like it's one," Nick replied in his "charming" ways and shrugging his shoulders afterwards.

I couldn't help but just stared back at him, who didn't know what else to say anymore, as he nervously took a bite from his taco instead, just to stall some time.

"Is that how you treat your previous dates?" I sarcastically asked, causing Nick to nearly choke on his food, before grabbing his wine glass and washed it down away.

"Well, I, uh...you see…" Nick continued to stammer, trying to find the right words to say back. I was astonished to see him act this way, since he always have something to say back.

 _'I guess this is just as weird for him as it is for me,'_ I concluded, before speaking up. "Sorry if I brought it up, Nick."

"No worries, Judy. I'm the one who should be sorry for bringing it up," Nick insisted before letting out a chuckle. "You know, for best friends, we suck at communicating."

"Oh yeah, we sucked at it big time," I chuckled in agreement, before we continued to have our tacos and drink our wine, until they were all gone and we felt very full. Nick put the plates away in the sink to have them washed later.

"That was another good dinner you cook up, Nick," I praised his cooking, as I sat on the couch.

"I do think it was some of my best work," Nick added. "Plus, the wine made it so much better."

"Don't flatter yourself, Nick. It might be good, but it's not like it's going to cure cancer or anything," I joked.

"Admit it, Carrots, you enjoyed it as much as I did. You're just good at hiding it," Nick smirked with amusement, before he grabbed the wine bottle off the table and poured some more wine into my glass, as well as his own, before he took them both and sat right next to me on the couch, just as the movie I was watching was starting to wrap up. We watched the rest in general silence as we drank wine probably a bit faster than you should drink wine. By the time the end credits were rolling, I could tell I couldn't drive legally.

"Too bad we missed a good portion of Glamorous and the Beast," I said, as Nick handed me my refilled glass. "The best part about that movie are always the musicals, especially when the characters sings out their situations."

"I'm always jealous of anyone who could sing pretty well," Nick claimed. "Whenever I try to sing, I sound like a dying walrus."

"Yeah right, Nick," I disagreed. "I sing much, much worst. I sound like a cat screeching in pain."

"Want to bet to see who could last the longest to whoever could sing the worst, Carrots?"

"You got a deal!" Nick and I grinned at each other, as he turned off the TV and took a coin out of his pocket.

"Whoever wins the coin toss, would go first to sing. The loser quits when they cover their ears."

"I choose tails," I said, as Nick flipped the coin up in the air, before it landed down on his palm. We both looked at it and saw it landed on…head.

"Looks like I go first," Nick pulled out his phone and flipped through a selection of songs from the screen to choose from. After a few minutes of searching, He eventually found one, selected it and prepared to sing, while I prepared to cover my ears.

 _"Tonight, I'm gonna to help myself a real good time…"_

Once he began singing for the next few minutes, I can tell it was quite bad, but nothing like a dying walrus. Though definitely one in pain. Regardless, it was still painful to hear and he sounded a bit slur too, probably from drinking his wine...and yet, it was more amusing than cringe-worthy, just as Nick finally finished his singing.

"Bravo! Magnifico!" I clapped like a fool. "That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."

"Now it's your turn to torture me," Nick handed his phone over to me and I flipped through the selection of songs to choose from the screen. I found a one hit wonder that sounded interesting and played it, before I sang as my worst moment.

 _"Twenty-five years and my life is still..."_

I continued to mess up the lyrics very badly, slurring them with nonsense and a lot of gibberish into the mix. But the way I was singing, though, sounded more like a cat meowing badly than screeching in pain. Regardless, I continued to sing, all the way through the end.

"Wow, that was really bad," Nick giggled like an idiot. "I think I will concede this round. Looks like you win."

"Yay! I won! I'm the worst!" I exclaimed, as I fell down on my ass and laughed at myself, before Nick joined in and laughed with me. After we got that out of our system, we began to pour more wine into our glasses and drink the night away.

"Hey Carrots, maybe we should stop drinking. This bottle suddenly feels lighter," Nick slurry suggested, waving the bottle in one hand and holding his wine glass with the other.

"To be honest, I can't tell how many glass I into now," I muttered, as my visions were starting to get blurry and everything felt like it was on autopilot. "So Nick, are we on a date for real?"

"You sure don't beat the bush around, but it doesn't sound too bad to call it a date," Nick answered. "We need to seal the deal."

"...Okie dokie," I agreed, as everything around me became vibrant and colorful. "If it's a date, we should end it with a kiss."

"Eh, what?" Nick was taken aback at this, despite being as tipsy as I was.

"Come on, Nicky boy. Just one kiss on the lips, that's all," I closed my eyes and puckered up my lips to him, waiting for him to make his move.

But much to my surprise, I felt something soft and wet on my forehead, as I opened my eyes to see Nick kissing it, before he backed away from me and gave me his stupid, signature grin.

"So, did I kiss you right?" he asked, as I wiped his slobs off of my forehead.

"That's not what I meant!" I protested, feeling a bit flustered, before Nick kissed me on the cheek. That wasn't what I wanted either! "Cut it out, Nick! You're a sloppy kisser!"

"And I suppose you're a better kisser than I am?" Nick laughed like a hyena, before I kissed him in the nose, surprising him instead.

"You did that on purpose!"

"Hey, I could have kissed you on the lips, but your breath reeks," I joked.

"So does yours!" Nick countered.

"Only because I was drinking as well," I pointed this out.

"I bet you don't have what it takes, Carrots," Nick dared me.

"I could have kissed you on the lips, but your breath reeks!" I sloppily talked back at him.

"Huh? What's that? I can't hear you." I probably should have seen what this was leading to but being as drunk as I was, I had problems seeing the other side of the couch.

"I could have kissed you on the lips, BUT your breath-Mmfp!"

Suddenly, Nick gave me a quick peck on lips, shutting me up; for a moment, everything around me froze and time had suddenly stopped in its tracks and remained still. He made me say those things on purpose!

"Now say that about you kissing me now," Nick smugly looked at me. In the heat of the passion, Nick and I proceeded to kiss one another like we had never kissed before. Even in a drunken stupor, I will admit that it felt so good. It was like all this tension that was between us over the last week or maybe even longer had just vanished and was replaced with a much more warm feeling.

"...You know what? I bet you can't make real love on the bed." Words that I can't believe left my mouth as we got up from the couch and made our way down to the hallway, stumbling down on the floor and hitting the wall every few seconds, before we got up and continued to take the night in a much more intimate direction..and that was about it. No, I'm serious. I don't remember what happened next. Everything about that fateful night was so muddy, it was hard to tell what we actually did. Unfortunately, I do remember what happened the day after…

* * *

 _'UGH! My head!'_ I woke up, letting out a yawn and rubbed my eyes. I never felt so tired in my life, let alone waking up with a big headache. It felt like someone repeatedly hit it again and again with a sledge hammer. I couldn't see clearly, though, mainly because the sunlight shining through the window cracks blinded me, while I feel the soft, furry bed rubbing underneath me.

 _'Wait a minute…'_ I thought, as my eyes were now completely opened. _'I don't have a soft, furry bed.'_

The next thing I knew, this "soft, furry bed" was slightly moving up and down below me. Shocked, I shot up and saw, to my dismay, that I was on top of Nick, sleeping completely naked in his bedroom.

"No mom, give me five more minutes…" Nick mumbled in his sleep.

"...What...the...fuck?" I quietly blurted out, before I looked at myself and saw I was naked as well.

 _'Oh my god!'_ I freaked out and covered myself with the bed sheet, before I heard the sound of the alarms from our phones beeping. I looked at Nick's phone and saw that it was 5:30 in the morning.

 _'What the hell happened last night?! Why was I sleeping naked with Nick?!'_ I frantically thought, before I felt my blood run cold at the implication. _'Did Nick and I had sex together?!'_

* * *

 **A/N: Cocktease! Sorry I'm not sorry.**

 **Addicted Reader. Thank you for your kind words. And thank all of you who leave reviews and keep me going.**

 **Till next time, Sal out!**


	16. The Morning After

**Ch. 16: The Morning After**

My memories of last night were pretty hazy; other than Carrots and I were having dinner together, drank some wines, kissing one another... that was pretty much all I could recount. Seriously, that was my whole memory of last night as the rest is just…gone. What I do know was that I got the biggest headache I ever had and I felt something heavy moving on my chest.

 _'What the hell is this?'_ I opened up my eyes, but my vision were quite blurry and all I could see was some gray mass on top of me.

"What...the...fuck?" I could barely heard it, but it sounded very familiar, just as the alarm from my smartphone blared up.

 _'Wait a minute, that sounded like...Judy!'_ I realized, before the gray mass that was on top of me suddenly got up, allowing me to get up as well, just as my vision started to clear up and I saw Judy right in front of me...wearing only just a bed sheet.

"Oh no..." I blurted out, as I looked around and saw my bedroom was a complete mess: pillows were laid down on the floor, the lamp was knocked down and there were claw marks scratched on the walls. I then looked down at myself and saw that I indeed butt naked. Because of course I was.

 _'Shit!'_ I panicked and grabbed a nearby pillow from the floor, covering up my junk, before facing Carrots. "Judy, what the fuck happened last night?!"

"Why are you asking me?! I don't know a goddamn thing either!" she retorted, just as shocked as I was.

"Did we do it?!" I nervously asked Carrots.

"I don't know! Did we, Nick?!" Judy nervously asked me back. She looked like she was about to be hit by a car, as her nose was fidgeting like it always did when she was scared.

None of us had an answer to that million dollar question, both worrying if we have done THAT last night. I then looked at the trash can right next to me and I couldn't help but be concerned about it.

 _'I wonder…'_ I looked closer at the trash can and examined the contents it contained, hoping that there wasn't any condoms or anything inappropriate in it.

"Anything, Nick?" Judy asked me, as I continued to look in the trash can for a few more seconds, before surveying the general area for anything that would be evidence of what happened last night.

"I don't see any used condoms or wrappers anywhere and there was nothing disgusting in it either. Unless we did it raw, there's nothing that could let us know if we have done THAT last night. Do you feel sore anywhere?"

"I don't feel sore, so maybe we didn't do it?" Carrots suggested.

"Is that bed sheet dry?" Carrots began to feel around the bed sheet at my request while I checked the rest of my bed. Nothing.

"Yes, it's dry," Carrots sighed with relief that there wasn't any fluids or anything staining the sheet.

"We'll I'm satisfied that we didn't do it. I don't know why, since neither was in our right mind," although I was relieved to hear this, it didn't change the fact that we did something rather kinky last night. "Whatever happened last night, it was only because we were drunk off of our ass and didn't meant to go that far. Why don't we just put it behind us and pretend that never happened?"

Judy looked down on the floor for a few seconds, before looking back at me.

"You're right, Nick. It's probably for the best."

"At least we're in agreement," I was pleased to hear Carrots' answer. "We should get ready for work right now. You can use the bathroom first, while I go get breakfast ready."

"Sounds good to me," Judy agreed and immediately left my bedroom to do her business, while I pick up a pair of boxer shorts from the drawer, put them on and made my way to the kitchen. It was the least I could do for right now, since I didn't want to run around naked in my own apartment.

"Time to do some cooking!" I declared, before turning on the TV and made my way to the fridge, pulling some eggs, butter and beetles out, ready to cook up some beetle omelettes.

"This is Tom Calico of ZNN and today, we have some unexpected development in Zootopia today."

"Oh goodie, can't wait to hear about it," I snarked, dismissing the Russian Blue cat's "jovial" act, as I pulled out the pan from the cupboard and turned the stove on, while I chopped up the beetles and cracked a few eggs in the bowl, when I heard something I never expected to hear from the news at all.

"We have received a footage from an anonymous source last night and unexpectedly, it was about former ex-con turned police officer Nick Wilde and local hero Judy Hopps doing more than just relaxing on their day off."

"...What?" I turned my attention to the TV and what I saw caused my heart to sank till it was in my foot.

What I saw was a footage...of me and Judy leaving Mystic Springs Oasis from yesterday. I stared at the footage that was being played on TV, dumbfounded by what I was watching.

"Looks like these two famous officers have more than just a partnership within ZPD."

"I heard that, Tom," Ruth Walden, his kangaroo co-anchor, replied. "Ever since the the Night Howler case that plagued Zootopia several months ago, they have always been involved in cases that would have been otherwise impossible to solve and…"

I didn't care what the news had to say anymore. I turned off the stove and rushed towards the bathroom, knocking on the door loudly, hoping to get Judy's attention right away.

"Judy, there's something you have to see on TV!"

"Hang on, Nick! I'm almost done."

"Make it quick!"

"UGH! Alright already, Nick! Just hang on," after about a minute or two, Judy finally came out of the bathroom with her towel around her and looking at me with concern.

"What's going on?"

"No time to explain, Judy. You have to see this!" I immediately lead her to the TV, where the news was still playing, with Ruth Walden still narrating it.

"Who would ever thought Officer Hopps would be in a place like Mystic Springs Oasis?"

The moment she mentioned Judy's name, I saw her face grew pale, her eyes widened like plates and her jaw left hanging, before the camera switched to the footage, with Fabienne Growley speculating on it.

"The footage we received last night has left us wondering whether Officer Hopps and Officer Wilde have something romantic happening between them or if they merely joined the naturalist club as its newest members."

We both continued to stare at the TV in astonishment, shocked by what the news was implying, before I turned the TV off. I didn't want to hear anymore of that crap!

"...Suddenly, I don't feel like eating breakfast today," Judy muttered out. I looked at the half cooked food that was in the kitchen, before looking back at her.

"Yeah, me neither."

"Oh my god!" Judy suddenly gasped. "What will my folks think?! More importantly, what will _Chief Bogo_ think?!" It amused me that that the super career-oriented Carrots was more concerned with her boss than her own parents.

"Let's not panic, Carrots. We'll tell them that we're neither going out nor are we members of a naturalist club. It wouldn't be lying anyway" I attempted to calm her down.

"With that footage on TV? I don't think so!" Judy disagreed, before pondering to herself. "Who saw us at that club last night and filmed us? More importantly, why did they leak it to the news?"

"I'll tell you who…" I sternly began. "Some sleazeball that wants to get some quick fame by filming scandalous footage of famous people for fame and profit. After all, we _are_ the first fox and bunny cops out there and they even called you a local hero."

"I guess that makes sense," Judy seemed to understand my explanation. "But as much as I want to find the creep who did this, we should get ready for work, just like we always do."

"Agreed," I simply said, before Judy went into her room to put her police uniform on, while I went into my bedroom, took the police uniform off the rack and headed into the bathroom, ready for my morning shower. I hated morning showers. I'd rather do it the night before so I don't sleep in my own filth though I guess in this instance I slept in two people's filth.

"This is going to be rough on us, especially if Chief Bogo gets involved," I worriedly said to no one. "If he seen the news today, he'll probably have my head on a pike right about now."

After turning the faucet on and removing my boxers, I jumped into the tub, ready to clean myself off.

"Just in case, I'll make it a cold shower," I turned the faucet to the right and cold water drizzled down onto my fur, keeping me awake and aware of my own surroundings. After about a few minutes spent lathering up and rinsing, I was finally done with my shower, put my uniform on and headed out to the living room, with Judy waiting right besides the front door.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be, Carrots," I replied and headed out, taking the stairs as usual, but also looking around the apartment complex. The last thing we need is bumping into some cameramen that wanted another video of us together and make a profit out of it too. One was enough already for us to handle.

After we made our way down (and making sure no one was watching us), we immediately booked it to my car and got into our seats, before I started my car up and drove off to ZPD. Of course, we didn't drive too fast and get everyone's attention, so we drove in a steady pace as best as we could.

 _'So much for a wonderful morning,'_ I thought.

We continued to drive for a few more minutes, before Judy and I finally arrived at ZPD; unfortunately, Chief Bogo was waiting outside for us, more angrier than usual and pretty much confirmed my worst fear.

"Ah shit," I cursed, as I parked the car, before I exited out, followed by Carrots and we both cautiously approached Chief Bogo.

"Hey there...Chief," I sheepishly greeted. "How are you?"

"You're looking handsome today, Chief," Judy sheepishly added.

Chief Bogo, however, snorted and glared down on us in response, as we both shut up. After what felt like an eternity, he finally spoke up.

"Hopps, Wilde, come to my office. **NOW**."

Both of us sighed in defeat, as arguing with Chief Bogo would have been pointless; we followed his lead, passing by our fellow officers along the way, staring at us with surprise, shock and confusion. Judy and I eventually arrived at his office and took our seats, as Chief Bogo paced back and forth like a drill sergeant.

"Hopps, Wilde, I'll be frank: I don't give a crap about what you two do in your spare time. You want to spend it at a nudist club, fine. However, what I am concerned about is whether you two are in a relationship," Chief Bogo explained, before he stopped pacing and faced us. "As police officers, you should know that there's a policy about putting couples as partners. It creates a plethora of conflicts of interest for both parties."

"But Chief Bogo, Judy and I aren't dating!" I insisted.

"And we aren't members of the Mystical Springs Oasis either!" Judy exclaimed. "Nick and I only went their for just one day and that was it!"

Chief Bogo didn't respond back, but simply looked at us to figure out our reactions; he was less than impressed, but he sighed exasperatedly, before speaking up once more.

"If the situation changes to where you _are_ dating, you both will report to me for reassignment or face the consequence. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir," we understood him loud and clear. Not that we liked it. At least he wasn't jumping to conclusions and punishing us for it.

"Good," Chief Bogo replied. "You two are dismissed. Go down to the meeting room for today's assignments."

We saluted Chief Bogo and left his office and down to the hallway, heading to the meeting room as fast as we could. When we got there, though, we saw our fellow officers looking at us, some even whispering to one another, no doubt speculating on what kind of "relationship" that Carrots and I were having.

"Oh great," Judy moaned, face palming in annoyance.

"Just ignore them, Judy. That's all we can do," I instructed her, taking our usual spots at the meeting room, just as Chief Bogo finally arrived, carrying the briefing folder of today's assignments, as the officers quiet down and faced their attention towards him instead of us. Thank goodness for that.

"Everyone settle down, we have long day to get through. As always, I'll be handing out today's assigned duties, so listen up when I call your names. We have a few other districts that are requesting assistance with patrols and searches so I'll be handing you over to them till the job's done."

Like every other day, Chief Bogo called out each officer's name, along with their assigned duties for today. But then, he spoke a familiar name, along with another name that neither Judy nor I recognized.

"Officer Swift, you and Officer Harris will be assigned to help patrol Tundratown."

Curious by this, Judy and I, as well as every other officer, turned to face Swift and a male rabbit right next to her, wearing the ZPD police uniform. It didn't took too long for us to realize who he was.

"This must be her rabbit friend Swift mentioned," I commented, with everyone chattering about Swift's new partner.

"At least we know what he looks like," Judy added.

 **"AHEM!"** Chief Bogo cleared his throat up, silencing everyone in the meeting room, before he handed out Swift and Harris their assignment. He then resumed calling out the officer's name and handed them their assignments a few more times, until it was our turn.

"Officer Wilde, Officer Hopps, you two will be patrolling Savanna Central and _only_ patrolling Savanna Central." Thanks, Chief. Glad to see your confidence in us to do our job is on display.

I don't like the idea of Carrots and I doing nothing but patrol duty all day; after what happened today, though, I couldn't blame Chief Bogo for giving us this type of assignment, as he handed out our assignment to us and we accepted it without questions, before we both left the meeting room and saw Swift and her new partner standing in the hallway.

"Nick, Judy, it's so good to see you again!" Swift excitedly shouted, trying to resist the urge to hug us both. "What really happened between you two yesterday? Are you two really going-"

"We rather not talk about it, Swift," Judy cut her off. "Nothing happened between me and Nick last night and we only went to the Mystical Springs Oasis due to personal problems we were dealing with at the time."

"...Oh alright, I understand, Judy," Swift accepted Carrots' answer, though I suspected a part of her was still curious of what we did yesterday. "But enough about that. Let's talk about something else."

 _'Smart move, Swift,'_ I approved.

"Nick, Judy, I want you to meet my friend and partner, Jack Harris," Swift introduced him to us. "Jack, meet Judy and Nick."

"It's so good to finally met the famous Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps at last!" Jack enthusiastically greeted us, first shaking my hand, before shaking Judy's hand next.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Harris," Judy greeted him.

"It's nice to meet you as well," I greeted Harris back, before I got curious. "How come you didn't show up sooner? You took the same class as Swift did."

"I had some personal things that needed to be taken care of," Harris replied, sheepishly rubbing his head. "I was just glad that ZPD was kind enough to postpone my first day on the job until everything got sorted out."

"Glad you were able to resolve your situation and joined ZPD on time, Harris," Judy expressed her sympathy to him.

"I'm just glad I put it all behind me and thank you, Officer Hopps," Harris smiled back.

"No problem, Harris, but you can call me Judy and you can call Nick by his first name," Carrots assured him.

"Oh, alright then, Judy," Harris accepted her answer.

"As much as I would love to chat and all, we need to get going. Chief Bogo will be pissed if he catches us in here and not doing our jobs," I reminded everyone.

"Oh yeah, that's right," Swift almost forgot about her and Harris' assigned duty. "Anyway, it's nice to see you guys again."

"Good luck on your assignment, you guys," Harris told us.

"We will, Harris, but thanks," I assured him.

"Goodbye now," Judy bid our friends her farewell and we went our separate ways. We requisitioned a patrol car that we need to patrol around Savanna Central, a request that was granted, before we got into the car and drove off to Savanna Central to start patrolling the area.

"So Judy, do you think Swift and Harris will make a great team?" I asked her.

"I think they'll do fine together, Nick," Carrots replied. "They were getting along pretty well."

"Let's hope they don't have to do something crazy like we did with the Night Howler case or find themselves in the situation we're in right now," I commented.

"You're right, Nick. Let's hope they don't have to go through what we've been through," Judy agreed, as we began patrolling around Savanna Central in silence. Or at least until Judy's phone rang and Judy's nearly dropped her phone in shock when she saw who it was.

"It's my parents! What do I do?!" Judy looked like she was on the verge of a panic attack.

"Let it go to voicemail! If they ask later, just say we were at work!" I tried my best to console her as I was driving though it wasn't very easy. Judy let the phone ring and as soon as it stopped she shut it off so that it wouldn't ring again.

"I'm going to hate having to call them back..." Judy sighed as she tried her best to calm down and focus.

Easier said than done...

Patrolling Savanna Central was anything but simple; every turn we took, a lot of people were giving us the same weird look we got from the grocery store last night. I knew that they must have watched today's news, because some of them began referencing it.

"Get a room, you two!"

"I never thought I would see a fox and a rabbit become more than friends."

"I bet it must have been some good sex!"

"Nick, I don't like where this is going," Judy expressed her concerns. Where it's going? I think we already past that point and arrived at our destination.

"All we can do now is not worry about it," I instructed her as I kept driving. "It's better to simply ignore them, no matter how much taunts they can dish out on us."

"But I'm not like you, Nick," Carrots protested. "I can't close myself off from others, especially from my family."

"Do you think this is going to bother you forever, Judy?" I asked her.

"Of course not, Nick. Rumors don't last forever and they go away eventually," Carrots answered.

"You're right about that," I agreed. "If we let the public think what they want to think without making it so obvious for them, it will blow all over."

"You mean, we have to be what the rumors wanted us to be?" Judy asked me confusingly.

"I mean, we have to be what we have to be. Nothing more, nothing less. That's all," I corrected Carrots.

"...Alright, I guess I can go along with your strategy then," Judy understood what I was talking about.

"We just have to be strong together, Carrots. Things like this won't get better right away, but eventually, things will get better in time."

"I hope you're right about that," said Judy, before we resumed patrolling Savanna Central.

Several minutes later, we bumped into many people who wondered what kind of relationship we were in and we did our best to explain that we were merely friends and nothing more. Some accepted our answers quite easily, but others were too bullheaded to believe our claims. Recently, we have to deal with a bunch of hecklers on the streets, who really wanted to pick a fight with us; since they didn't do anything harmful towards us, however, we simply gave them a citation and a warning. Judy, though, was starting to become more and more stressed out by this point.

"Don't let them get to you, Carrots. We have to stick to the plan and make it clear that we aren't who they think we are."

"I understand that, Nick, but it's starting to become tiresome dealing with everyone asking you so many different questions and giving them the same answer," Judy responded, followed by a sigh. "How much time do we have left anyway?"

"Fortunately for us, our shift is about to end," I said.

"It's about damn time," Judy felt relieved upon hearing this. "Let's bring this car back to ZPD and called it a day."

"Let's do that," I agreed, before I drove the patrol car back to ZPD and safely parked it in the garage, before Judy and I got out and headed back to my car. Unfortunately for us, though, many reporters popped out of nowhere and started to swarm us like a pack of rabid dogs.

"Tell us, Nick!"

"How long has this been going on?"

"Are you and Judy going all natural now?"

"I have nothing to say to any of you," I calmly but bluntly replied to the reporters. "Judy and I have other important things to do. Right now"

I managed to get Judy close to me and maneuvered her around the cluster of reporters surrounding us, even shoving a few that were standing in our way, before we both got into my car and drove off as far away as possible, until we could no longer see the reporters behind us, as I faced Carrots and sighed.

"Judy..." I began. "You can't stay at my place anymore. We might be sending the wrong message if they found out you're living at my place."

"...I understand, Nick," a disheartened Judy replied. "If they saw us together in your place, we'll be labeled as liars."

I feel guilty for forcing Judy out of my apartment, but considering the situation, we didn't have much of a choice. I wish there was another way around this mess, but if Carrots and I don't do something about the situation, it would only become more complicated and messier than it already was.

Taking the usual route back home wasn't an option, as I suspected that there were more reporters waiting for us to show up. Instead, I took a very long detour that I was familiar with, all the while looking behind us every few seconds, making sure that we weren't being followed. Once we made it back to the apartment, Judy and I quietly went up to my place and packed every of her belongs, before taking most of them down to my car and drove back to her place immediately. Thankfully, no one saw us come in and out, so they wouldn't have enough time to figure out what Carrots and I were up to.

"Judy, I'm sorry for making things worst for us. It's my fault that we went to the Mystical Springs Oasis," I apologized to her, helping her unload her stuff out of my car. "If I didn't take you there, none of this wouldn't happen."

"There's nothing to be sorry about, Nick. To be honest, your idea had actually helped me feel more comfortable around you again, so it really did helped me out," Carrots assured me, as she took her stuff with her.

I couldn't helped but smiled back at Judy, pleased that some good came out from my idea.

We continued to quietly unpack much of her belongings back at her place, until we took the last of it out of my car. Once that was done, Judy and I looked at one another for a moment, before we hugged another.

"I'll see you later, Carrots."

"I'll see you later too, Nick."

We exchanged our farewells and I left Judy's place and got back into my car, but not before I glanced back and saw Judy waving her hand back at me. I smiled, waved back at Carrots and drove off, until Carrots was out of sight, as I sighed sadly to myself.

"I hope we could weather the storm together. No matter what happened, I hope we can help each other out when we really needed it," I told myself, arriving to my destination, as I parked my car and took the stairs. But by the time I got back to my apartment, everything inside felt so...empty, more so when you don't have someone to share it with.

"It may have been a few days, but I wish those few days didn't end the way it did."


	17. Arguing With Myself

**Ch. 17: Arguing with Myself**

This had to be the worst moment of my life! Thanks to some sleazy scumbag who wanted attention by filming me and Nick together, I was forced to bring most of my stuff back into the shitty hellhole known as my old apartment! As soon as I got in, everything about it felt like it was suffocating me; compare to the open space from Nick's apartment, my apartment was filled with disappointment and sadness, as I stared at the tiny, claustrophobic room I was in. To make things worst, the "neighbors" I thought I left behind were arguing with each other...again...and I was caught listening to their spouts… _again_...

"Just what I needed," I groaned in frustration, not giving a damn what my neighbors were arguing about. I just want them to shut the hell up and have peace and quiet.

"Might as well get some fresh air while I'm here," I made my way to the window and opened it, letting out the stagnant air that was lingering in my apartment, but it did little to improve my situation.

 _'I never thought coming back to my apartment would be so...sad,'_ I thought. _'I know Nick wanted me to keep a safe distance from him for our sake, but there's nothing around here that would cheer me up.'_

I sighed and began unpacking most of my luggage, putting clothes away where I could with the downgrade of space. After a few minutes of unpacking, I laid down on my bed in sheer boredom; unlike Nick's apartment, I didn't have a whole lot of entertainment. No T.V., a radio that mocks me,

"I can't believe my life turned into a real soap opera. I just want to stop being afraid of Nick, but that ended up working against us instead," I lamented. "Now everyone in Zootopia thinks we're some sort of secret lovers and wanted to know more about our personal lives!"

I looked outside and saw that it was still sunny, so sleep wasn't really an option right that minute as much as I wish it was. However, I did wish I would pass out and that everything around me would go away in a blink of an eye; the sooner it goes away, the better. The same goes for my neighbors' constant bickerings; I could sure use a pair of earmuffs to silence them, but even that would bore me after about a few minutes. Still… the earmuffs would be nice.

 _'What am I going to do now?'_ I wondered. _'I can't leave my apartment again or I'll be harassed by those reporters, but I don't want to stay here and listen to the latest gossip from my neighbors either!'_

I facepalmed at my situation, feeling trapped in my own apartment like I was some criminal in a jail cell. The only place that would feel safe was back home, but if I go back to my family, it wouldn't be safe anymore, especially if those damn reporters would have followed me back, harassing my folks and siblings…

"Oh my god!" I forgot that I didn't call my parents back yet! I quickly turned on my phone and much to my shock, I have nineteen missed calls and voicemails over the day. That was not the best sign of things to come.

 _'They're probably beyond pissed by now,'_ I thought, hesitating to answer back. After I continued to stare at my phone, I took a deep breath and dialed in the numbers, waiting patiently for a response. It was at least a few seconds, but I finally heard a familiar voice from the other line.

"Hello?"

"...Hi mom, how are you today?" I sheepishly greeted Bonnie, my mother.

"Judy, is everything alright?!" Mom sounded very worried. "We just watched the news today and saw that footage! Did what they say about you is true?"

 _'Oh great!'_ I sighed and answered my mom's question. "What you saw and heard from the news isn't true, Mom. Everything that happened yesterday were all fabricated."

"So are you saying that you leaving a nudist club is fabricated as well?" mom sternly questioned me.

"It's a naturalist club, mom and yes, I did go there, but I didn't do anything...shameful," I insisted, despite feeling uncomfortable talking about it.

"It doesn't change the fact that you went to a place that encouraged people to go around in the nude," Mom replied, sounding very upset by and I couldn't blame her for feeling that way. If I found out one of my siblings went to a place I wouldn't approve of, I would freak out too.

"Mom, it was only for one time and I don't plan on going back anytime soon," I tried to calm her down.

"But still, what possessed you to go to such a place, Judy?" mom demanded.

"It wasn't my idea, mom. It was...it was, Nick's," I hesitantly answered.

"...You mean you let a fox convince you to go to a nudist club?!" I could hear mom gasping in shock. I thought they were past this hatred of foxes but apparently not.

"Nick had a good reason behind it. I didn't approve of it, but it actually helped me out, despite the awkwardness," I half-heartedly explained, as I never told her or the rest of family about the nightmare I had a few nights ago. They would have been worried sick if they knew about it.

"If you're Dad was here with me right now, he would have suffered a heart attack. Or probably would have come to track you down personally."

"Does Dad know?" I wanted to make sure whether Stu, my dad, was aware of what happened.

"Thankfully, Judy, he didn't watch the news today," mom replied, much to my relief. "Everyone else who did agreed that it was best to keep it quiet. He would have a panic attack if he knew the full story, especially if your partner was involved."

"Wait a minute, mom, I thought everyone put their fox paranoia away ever since you guys began working with Gideon," I called her out on this.

"That's because we've gotten to know more about Gideon since we've started working together," mom countered. "Nick, on the other hand, is another story. None of us have ever met him in person and we only know about him whenever you talk about him a few times." Wow. I had only now realized that I had never actually introduced Nick to anyone in my family.

"Don't worry, mom, Nick is a great guy and he wouldn't do anything devious to me ever. I know he's not perfect, but he's someone that I have come to trust"

"Can you at least introduced him to your dad and I when you get the chance?"

My heart dropped as soon as mom asked me that question. It had been over several months now and I knew there would be a time that my family would want to see Nick for the first time. But due to the current situation we were in, however, it didn't feel right to introduce them to him yet. Especially since anyone would look at me introducing someone to my parents as a sign of him being my boyfriend.

"Judy, are you still there?"

"...I'm still here, mom. It's just that...Nick is busy right now with something... very important," I hated lying to mom over the phone, but I didn't have any other choice. "But when he's done with it, I can introduce Nick to you and dad as soon as I can." There was a long awkward silence, as if Mom was trying to process what I said or she was on to me and was disappointed with me.

"Alright Judy, I understand," Mom accepted my answer, to my relief. "I hope nothing bad happened between you two."

"Of course not, Mom. Not at all. That would be very awful and sad," I chuckled nervously at how partially right mom was. "Anyway, it was nice talking to you, mom. Goodbye now."

"Bye, Judy."

We then both hung up, as I put my phone away and groaned at what I had just done.

"I can't believe I have to lie to my own mom."

"Ah, how very sad right there," my ears perked up, hearing one of my neighbor's snide comment and turned to the source of the voice. "Life isn't coated with sugars and candies, you know."

"You said it, man," his partner in crime agreed. "I always thought Judy was the squeaky clean type of person, but after watching the news, now I know that's not the case," I then heard both of them laughing their heads off.

"I never imagined she would go to the Mystical Springs Oasis of all places!"

"I bet she had seen a lot more from down below, if you know what I mean."

"Not to mention that she must have such a nice fling with that fox cop…"

My neighbors continued to make such "colorful" comments about me, my life and what happened last night for the next several minutes, each getting cruder and cruder by the seconds. I was starting to become more and more angrier, frustratingly gritting my teeth and my blood pressure continued to boil up. Finally…

"Why the flying fuck you care about my life?! At least _my_ life isn't shitty like yours!"

My neighbors immediately stopped chatting and gasped in shock, clearly not expecting me, of all people, to shout back at them, let alone curse, before I took another deep breath and shouted back at them again.

"The only reasons you two are unable to work out your problems is because you want to make yourselves feel better by listening to everyone else's instead, but do you know what I think about you two?! You guys are pathetic, sad sacks who don't know when to stop sticking their noses into people's business and when you two pass away, no one, not even your families, will visit you guys and there is nothing that you two could fucking do about it!"

Once my tirade was done, I was heavily breathing in and out, trying to calm myself down, before I realized my neighbors weren't talking as usual; actually, it was eerily quiet from the other side. I waited for a few seconds to hear something, but I got nothing.

 _'Maybe I went too far back there,'_ I waited for a few more seconds, wondering whether they were messing with me or not. Finally, I got an answer from one of them.

"...That was the cruelest thing you have ever said to us," my neighbor spoke sadly.

"You didn't have to be that mean" his partner added, followed by a soft whimpering and then...total silence.

 _'Gee, now I feel really bad for telling them off,'_ I would have apologize to them right away, but after giving them a "reason they suck" speech seconds ago, I didn't think they would accept it. I laid down on my bed, soaking in the silence around the apartment and looked up at the ceiling, not knowing what to do, before I looked back at my phone and saw that it was seven. It was close to night, but close enough for me to get some rest.

 _'I didn't get that much sleep from last night, since all I did was black out,'_ I recalled. _'Hopefully I won't have that same nightmare again, but being afraid of Nick isn't what's bothering me anymore. It's the people around us that does.'_

It was such a pain in the ass that everyone in Zootopia wanted to know what kind of relationship we were having; they were quick in their assumptions about us all day, no matter how many times we denied it and just thinking about it would only gave me migraine. I just wanted to get away from it all.

 _'Might as well sleep it off,'_ I changed out of my police uniform and switched into a casual shirt and sweatpants, before I laid on top of my bed for hopefully a good night's rest.

"Today was definitely one of the worsts," I then closed my eyes and doze off, as another day in Zootopia passed by.

* * *

Something didn't feel very right; I don't feel the pillow underneath my head nor do I feel the cold breeze from outside. It took me a while, but I opened my eyes and I was laying around in some empty void, much to my shock. Everything around me was completely dark, except for a light above me that dimly lit the otherwise empty void.

"Hello?" I asked out loud, before I heard my voice echoing throughout the void, causing my whole body to shiver in fear. Eventually, it died down a few seconds later and everything became silent again...or so I thought.

"Hello?" I heard a voice echoing into the void again, causing me to grow even more unnerved than ever. What was strange, though, was that I didn't even say anything this time. Not only that, there was something familiar about this voice as well.

 _'Where is it coming from?'_ I frantically looked around for the source, but no matter where I looked, I was unable to locate it and that was scared me the most.

"Judy, can you hear me?" I froze, startled that it was now speaking to me. More importantly, though, I recognized the voice.

 _'It sounds like me...but it's not coming from me,'_ I was confused and I didn't know what was going on, but I put that thought aside for now, as I answered back to the mystery voice. "Yes, I can hear you."

"Good to hear, Judy. I have something important that we should talk about."

"What is so important that you want to talk to me about?" I cautiously asked back.

"It's better if we meet face to face," suddenly, a small light appeared out of nowhere, startling me. "Don't be afraid, Judy. Just follow the light and everything will be explained."

"...Alright, I'll take your word," I nodded my head and ran after the small light, As I continued to follow the small light, I looked around the void and saw several pictures of Nick and I interacting together through my eyes, including that intimate moment from last night.

"Ah, you two look so sweet together," the voice nonchalantly commented.

"What game are you playing?" I sternly asked the voice.

"Why, it's no game at all, Judy," the voice insisted. "I just want to have a serious talk about your relationship with Nick and why you're denying something so important in your life. There's nothing to be ashamed about."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I dismissed the voice, before I looked back to the light, only to see it was gone. In its place was...another me; her outfit was the same as mine but muted, her fur was much darker and I felt her gaze pierced right through me. The sight of this...Other Judy caused me to gasp quietly, not expecting to encounter something like this.

"I don't know what the big deal is, Judy, but you should be happy that you got a man in your life," Other Judy lectured me.

"...Who are you?" I finally summoned the courage to ask my doppelganger.

"Why I'm you, the real you," Other Judy happily answered. "I'm the real Judy that's been kept underneath from your own fears."

"The real me? What do you mean by 'the real me'?" I was confused by her claim, as I heard Other Judy sighed exasperatedly in response, before answering my question.

"I'm like your subconscious, Judy. The kind of person you would be, but your inhibitions are holding you back whenever you're awake. In other words, I'm a part of you that you always secretly wish to be in life."

"Does that mean I want fantasized sex about being raped by my best friend to be a part of my true self too?" I sarcastically asked.

"I'm more primal than you are, but to answer your question, yes, it does," Other Judy calmly replied.

"But how will that part of me help out my current situation with Nick?" I was skeptical at this point.

"All I can do is make you be aware of your feeling for Nick, Judy," she explained. "And that feeling is your love for him. Deny it as much as you want, but it is very genuine. By accepting it, you'll be free from the cloud of judgements and doubts that have been plaguing you for quite some time."

I was about to object to Other Judy's claim, before I stopped myself and reflect back at what she said instead. I will admit that, other than my family, I have been closer with Nick than anyone else in Zootopia. Then again, it was rare for anyone to be close to me. Despite my job, I'm not that big of a social butterfly. I think I have maybe 10 people I would consider friends and that's if I'm generous.

 _'Nick did helped me out during those several months ever since I settled down in Zootopia. Sure, it got off to a rocky start and my trust in him started off small, but it did started to grow,'_ I continued to ponder about this. _'Whether we're hanging out together or working at ZPD, we always have each other's back and even we got drunk as hell from last night...still wish it wasn't a stupid mistake but instead a sign of intimacy, though.'_

After much thinking, I simply sighed to this, because by now, everyone at ZPD were looking at me and Nick in a different light, but I'm not so sure if we could overcome their expectations, let alone how Nick was feeling about our situation. After all, it was his suggestion that we put it behind us and act like everything was normal. But then, I realized something...

"This...this is wrong. I don't care how they feel about me and Nick. What we do together is only our business!" I declared, before I sadly looked down. "But if we choose to become a couple, it'll be bad for us. Chief Bogo will have us reassigned to different partners, we'll be outsiders for the rest of our lives and my family...I don't know if they'll accept us or not."

Just thinking of what was going to happen to me and Nick down the road was becoming too much for me to handle. I grabbed my head in frustration, as I wanted to shout at the top of my lung of how I felt, how I don't care and more importantly, how…

"Judy, don't force yourself to find the answer right now!" I snapped back from my thoughts and faced Other Judy, who looked at me with concern. "There's no need to be in such a rush. You just have to take one step after another and don't worry about what the future holds for you and Nick. Instead, just focus on what's happening in the present."

"...You're right, other me. Rushing into things head first would have caused me a lot of trouble. I'll try to slow and take things in stride," to be fair, though, rushing into trouble headfirst have actually provided some of the best moments of my life, but my doppelganger had a point: I have to stop worrying about the future and just be concerned with the present.

"Now that's more like it," Other Judy approved, pleased I was heeding her advice. "There's nothing more to discuss now. The rest is up to you."

"What do you mean?" I asked, but Other Judy simply smiled and waved farewell at me, disappearing out of sight. Suddenly, light was starting to fill up the void; soon, more lights were starting to fill up and everything was becoming too bright for me to see anything at all.

* * *

The sound of the alarm from my phone filled up my bedroom, as my eyes shot wide open, shot back up from my bed and looked out through the window to see the room was still dark but I could see the faintest hints of sunlight in the sky over the buildings. There was no doubt that Thursday had arrived, but it was much sooner than I thought it would.

"Well, this is it," I took a deep breath. "I have one chance at this. I'm afraid of what will happen when that time comes, but this is what I want. I just need to figure out what Nick wants."

A part of me was afraid how Nick will react, but I was not going to let fear get in my way after that pep talk I got from Other Judy. This was my moment to act and if I don't, I'll regret it for the rest of my life.

With my resolve clear to me, I put on my police uniform and got myself ready for today, intending to work things out with Nick. But before that happens, there was one more thing I have to do first.

"I owe my neighbors an apology," I vowed. "Even if they were rude and crass, they're probably feeling very miserable right now."

I took out a sheet of paper and wrote them the best apology letter I can come up, trying to make it as sincere as possible for them.

 _My neighbors,_

 _I owe you two my deepest apology for my behavior last night. I was just tired and wanted some peace and quiet after dealing with how yesterday went. I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you two and I feel really bad for my actions. I'm more than happy for a fresh start if you two are up for it. If not, I understand, but I want to let you that I'm sorry for my behavior and I hope you two have wonderful lives._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Judy_

It took me at least a few minutes, but I was finally done writing the letter. I then took a good look at it, making sure it was exactly what I wrote and hoping it would leave a good impression for my neighbors.

"This will have to do," I said, before I got out, stick my letter underneath their door and headed outside to work, hoping for the best. But more importantly, I need to make the most out of my situation.


	18. A Big Case in the Making

**Chapter 18: A Big Case in the Making**

"Stupid alarm!" I groaned at the alarm from my smartphone blaring noise throughout my room,forcing me to get up to turn it off to appease my ears. I don't have any problems with mornings, but I didn't want to deal with more of yesterday. However, it wasn't my day off and I had to get ready for work today, whether I liked or not.

"We need to get ready, Judy!" I grumbled, dragging myself off of my bed, waiting for a few seconds, before I face palmed and let out a big sigh. "That's right, she's back at her old place now. Looks like I have to pick her up."

I brushed my teeth, took a quick shower, put on my police uniform and instead of having breakfast, I headed straight to the hallway, looking out for any unscrupulous reporters ready to ambush me with their cameras and questions like a pack of wolves, as I cautiously but quietly headed downstairs; after a few minutes, I finally arrived at the ground floor, as I stuck my head out from the entrance, looking around for any more reporters that were hiding. Much to my luck, there wasn't a single reporter in sight.

"Thank god they lost interest in me. They probably found a much bigger story to cover anyway," I was relieved to know I was no longer the center of their attention, before I got into my car, started it and drove off to Judy's apartment. I hope that she was doing fine after what happened.

 _'I wish I didn't kick Carrots out of my apartment like that,'_ I thought, now kind of regretting the decision despite knowing it's for the best. _'I mean, she's such a sweet girl, with that long ears of hers, those lovely eyes, nice curves and...no, NO, NO! Bad Nick! BAD! I can't be acting like drooling idiot right now! I need to stay focused!'_

I forced myself away from such thoughts and focused my attention back on the road. I don't know what caused me to think like that. Judy's my friend, not my lover...and yet, I couldn't help but feel guilty for what I did to her.

It was about a few minutes of driving, but I finally arrived at Judy's place, as I parked my car on the side, waiting for my partner to show up any minute now.

"Just in case she's still asleep, I'll remind her," I picked up my smartphone and I was about to send her a text message, when I spotted Carrots coming out of her apartment, cautiously looking around for any paparazzi lurking around the corner; after a few seconds, Judy smiled and continued towards my car.

"I guess they lost interest in her too," I figured, just as Carrots showed up, opened the passenger's side and sat right next to me.

"Morning, Nick, how are you feeling?" Carrot's greeted me with a smile, almost like nothing was wrong with the world.

"Alright I guess. Can't really complain unless you want me too,"

"No thanks, Nick. You bring too much drama queen as it is!" Judy smiled widely, weirding me out by how very enthusiastic and happy she suddenly was. Something wasn't right.

'Carrots probably just acting like that to cope with our situation,' I shrugged and turned the engine on and quietly drove to ZPD...or at least, it was suppose to be quiet.

"So Nick... w-what are your thoughts about what happened… You know, a few nights ago?" I was weirded out once again, not expecting her to bring that incident up so soon. She sounded hesitant, like she really wanted to talk about this but couldn't bear to bring it up.

"...Where are you going with this, Judy?" I suspiciously asked.

"I-I was just wondering, that's all. To be honest, I didn't know what to think of it myself," Carrots sincerely replied.

"I don't know the answer to it either," I shrugged. "But if it helps, it was wild and unexpected."

"Do you...regret doing it?" Judy nervously asked, while I sighed before replying back. Did I? I thought about it for a while and even I don't know. Does not knowing mean I do?

"I don't regret that it happened, but it's going to make things complicated than it should be." I had to say something, anything but I couldn't really come up with much more than this. Just something to hopefully stop the conversation.

"Oh, um, alright then," I glanced back at Carrots and noticed her ears drooped slightly, as if it wasn't the answer she was hoping for.

"Judy, are you...alright?" I showed my concern, only for Carrots to shot me a smile.

"I'm fine, Nick! Forget what I just said earlier! What's done is done!"

Now I'm certain that Judy was lying to me, but before I could question her further, I noticed that we were getting closer to ZPD. I put my suspicions aside for now and parked my car, before we both got out and headed inside.

"Hey guys," Clawhauser waved us down for a chitchat.

"Hey Clawhauser," we both greeted him, heading to his desk, before I spoke up. "Is there something you want to talk to us about?"

"Don't act like you already know. You and Judy must have a lot of fun at the Mystical Springs Oasis," Clawhauser slyly remarked, as I groaned in frustration, while Judy nervously chuckled before replying back..

"I assure you, Clawhauser, Nick and I didn't do anything at the Oasis."

"We only went to the Oasis so Carrots wouldn't have that nightmare of hers anymore," I bluntly told him, before his eyes widen, as if he had remembered something.

"Oh yeah, that's right! Judy talked to me about it the other day and I helped her out on how to combat it," Clawhauser then gave us a confusing look. "But what does going to the Oasis have anything to do with Judy's nightmare?"

"...Let's just say that it was strip down the layers of fear," I hesitantly explained before realizing my wording. "And I'm saying that figuratively, not literally."

"It's nothing to worry about and it's all over and done with," Judy added.

"Could you just tell me what kind of nightmare it was that got you two to head to the Mystical Springs Oasis to begin with?" Clawhauser was quite annoyed that we were dodging his questions like tap dancers and he was about to lose his patience.

"Am I interrupting anything?" the three of us turned to see Chief Bogo right besides us, his arms crossed and staring us down intently. "Well? I'm waiting."

"...It was nothing, Chief. I was, uh, getting back to work," Clawhauser sheepishly replied and acted like nothing ever happened, much to our relief.

"That's what I thought," Chief Bogo then turned his attention towards us. "You two better get going or I'll lock you both out of the meeting room."

"Yes sir," we answered back and we immediately rushed to the meeting room as fast as possible, taking our usual spots, just as Chief Bogo showing up not a moment too soon, prompting everyone to be silent.

"Alright everyone, time for assignments," he did the usual routine like he had been doing every day, handing each assignment out to every officer, including yours truly and Carrots. I looked at our assignment and saw we were assigned to the Savannah District...again. I wasn't looking forward to going back to Savannah Central after what happened yesterday...hey, wait a minute...

 _'What's going on? Chief Bogo usually hands us a different assignment each day,'_ I wondered, just as our "friendly" chief spoke.

"For those who weren't here yesterday or didn't pay attention, the other districts are still in need of assistance in certain places, so we'll be lending support as we can manage. That is all. Dismissed."

"This must be a good day for us," I quietly amused, as me, Judy and everyone else left the meeting room.

"Nick, what do you think is going on with the other districts that would need more help?" asked Judy. "I mean, one needing help, sure, but a majority of them?

"My best guess would be that something big is going down with the other districts if it's asking for more help than usual. Whoever is behind it is probably cunning, bold and influential enough to get everyone's attention," I speculated

"The only one I know of who has a big influence is Mr. Big," Judy mused.

"He's the only one that we know of personally to have a big influence," I pointed this out to Carrots.

"Do you think Mr. Big's involved, Nick?"

"Only if a mob war is about to boil up, Judy, but we only have speculation at the moment."

"Maybe we should get some clues from Mr. Big."

"Not so sure if he's going to be fine with that, Carrots."

"It'll just be a quick peek, Nick, in case our hunches are right or not."

"Judy, you might be the godmother of Fru Fru's kid, but he's not going to give us any special treatment."

"Maybe we don't have to go to Mr. Big's mansion after all," Carrots suddenly got an idea. "We can just find out from a certain Weaselton instead."

"Now that's something I can go along with," I agree with the low key approach. "Besides, it'll be easier to find Weaselton; he keeps doing what he loves to do, no matter how many times he gets caught. But we'll have to be discrete about it, since Chief Bogo's holding a tight leash around us."

"Good point. We should keep quiet about this," Judy agreed, as we headed outside, got our police cruiser and drove our way to the Savannah District to begin our assignment, all the while keeping a lookout for and catch our only lead.

"What would Weaselton be doing right now?" Carrots asked, while I continued to drive around.

"Knowing Weaselton, it'll probably be a scam so obvious, even the most gullible would figure it out," I explained. "But he would be in an area that cops don't normally patrol in and give him time to set up and take down his scam quickly and easily and even may be wearing a disguise. Even then, though, his disguises would easily give his identity away if you paid any attention so I don't know why he bothers."

"Does he even wear disguises at all?" Judy was skeptical by my claim. He didn't wear one the last time we had to deal with him.

"Only in places where people already know who he is," I nonchalantly replied.

"Are they poorly made, cheap and ridiculous?"

"Pretty much, Carrots. Why?"

"That's why," Judy pointed out to the window, while I slow down the cruiser and saw a "female" weasel with a mop for a wig, a pair of melons to substitute as "breasts" underneath a cheaply made blue dress, fake jewelrys around "her" neck and wrists and poorly constructed high heels; lo and behold, it was Weaselton disguised as a woman...and a poor attempt at it too

"That has to be the ugliest woman I have ever seen!" I hold the urge to laugh to not give away our positions, but at least we found our weasel friend. I quickly pulled over to the alleyway to stay out of sight, before Carrots and I got out and snuck up on him.

"He's not even trying to hide it," I snickered.

"Nick, keep it down. If he hears us, we'll lose our only lead," Judy shushed me.

"Can't make any promises, but I'll try," we continued to sneek up on Weaselton, who was putting out his usual bootlegs out on the table (pirated movies, fake designer clothes, illegal fireworks, etc.), until we were close enough for him to hear us.

"Nice dress you got there, Weaselton," I casually remarked, still holding back my laughter.

"Hey, it's surprisingly comfortable, Wilde. Who knew that they have a size…" Weaselton stopped for a good second, before he turned around and finally noticed us. " **SHIT!** " he yelped, knocking most of his "products" from his table as it fell over.

"Now then Weaselton, How difficult do you want to make this for yourself?" Judy calmly asked.

"It's not what it looks like," Weaselton tried to defend himself like the coward he was.

"Really, Weaselton? We both know how this will end if you don't comply. You'll come up with an excuse or two, before you go running off and force us to chase you all over the city, until one of us tackles you down and interrogate you, until you finally confess and haul your ass back to jail, before repeating the circle of life all over again. So do us a favor and get straight to the point," I smugly grinned at Weaselton, who grudgingly sighed, before relenting to my request.

"What is it that you want to know?"

"A lot of crimes has been happening around at the other districts in Zootopia," I explained. "Is there any particular person orchestrating something big around here or are these crime sprees merely coincidental?" Weaselton paused for a moment, looking around, before he answered.

"There's a rumor going around that some gangs are trying to take each other out to take over the city's criminal underworld themselves."

"But what are the crimes for?" Judy questioned Weaselton.

"The most powerful weapon of all, Hopps: money," almost immediately, Judy realized what he was talking about.

"Just like the robbery from a few days ago."

"Yeah, you know," Weaselton continued. "I also heard the gangs are using the same tactics at the other districts, using scapegoats to commit big crimes, just to hide the much smaller crimes committed elsewhere. It's like they're building some little nest egg or something."

"It's definitely something a big time player would do," I remarked. "Commit enough big crimes to cover up a grand scheme."

"Do you have any more information that you can give us, Weaselton?" Carrots asked him again.

"Word on the streets is that Mr. Big is livid at them and is planning some counter measure to ice their plans. He claims that they're drawing too much attention to their activities and their blatant disregard for subtlety will bring down the underworld."

"That does sound like Mr. Big," I commented.

"That's true," Carrots agreed. "Mr. Big is old fashioned and goes by his own code of honor."

"His entire business model is around shady behavior and wouldn't like unnecessary attention," I nodded, then turned my attention to Weaselton. "Do you know who's behind this?"

"There are a ton of guys running their own crews, Wilde. If they know something, they keep it on a need to know basis. Hell, there are some names that even Mr. Big doesn't know."

"How about a hint, Weaselton?" a pissed off Judy demanded.

"That's all I know, Hopps. I swear," Weaselton insisted. "I'm not some big hotshot in the crime world, so I don't have any important information that the police and the other criminals would fight over for."

"But you know Mr. Big," I pointed this out to Weaselton.

"That's different, Wilde. Everyone knows who Mr. Big is," Weaselton dismissed my claim. "Speaking of which, he isn't keeping this on the low down. They all know how wrathful Mr. Big is and they're shitting themselves right now just thinking about it!"

Judy and I weren't surprised by this, but we also know that it would be a matter of time before Mr. Big goes after whoever intended to take the throne away from him in the criminal underbelly. Not only that, there will be a lot of bloodshed if civilians get caught in the crossfire.

"This is much bigger than we thought," I quipped

"Thanks for the information, Weaselton," Carrots thanked him. "It'll really help us out."

"So, uh, can I go now?" Weaselton sheepishly asked, while I looked at the numerous bootleg items that were still laying down on the ground.

"We never said we'll let you go," I informed, as Judy smirked and held up a pair of cuffs. "We simply wondered how hard you were going to make this.

"Damn," Weaselton blurted, before Carrots quickly cuffed him up.

"You should know by now this was going to happen," I reminded Weaselton. "Oh, by the way, we'll be taking you to the nearest station in the Savannah District, since you were about to commit a crime on this turf."

"I fucking hate you guys," Weaselton cursed us, sighing in defeat, before Judy and I hauled his sorry ass to the back of the cruiser and drove him off to the Savannah Central station.

"So is it true you two are dating or something?" Weaselton asked, trying to get under our skin. It worked as I hit the brakes so hard that he headbutted the metal bars that separate our half of the car from his. That knocked him out before we continued to the station. Once we dropped him off at the station, we resumed with our assigned duty, cruising around the streets.

"Nick, you didn't have to knock him out like that." It's amazing that she's not at all fazed by what Weaselton said but I'm sure she's just got better at not showing it. I just shrugged and stated our next course of action.

"We have a new lead, Carrots, so we should check out Mr. Big."

"Don't ignore me!" Judy looked at me with purple eyes that seemed to turn a tinge of red from the anger brewing behind them.

"Look, it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy so why don't we just put that on the side and talk about it after work." Judy's anger didn't calm down but she nodded as she realized that they had more important things to figure out first.

"He did helped us out during the Nighthowler incident ten months ago and helping him out would be a good way to wrap this up quickly before blood can be shed. Though, will he really help us now, We're even with him now as he's already paid us back for saving Fru Fru."

"He's not helping us, Judy. We're helping him help us," I replied, getting a giggle from Carrots.

"Fair enough, Nick," Carrots replied, before we drove off to Tundratown. Hopefully, Mr. Big would be in a good mood when we arrived at his mansion.

* * *

Scratch that, Mr. Big wasn't in a good mood; actually, it was more like a calm, temper tantrum. As soon as we arrived at his mansion and into his office, Mr. Big calmly, but angrily, threw a cup that nearly hit my face, but mellowed down a bit when he saw us, or rather, Judy.

"Ah, Judy, it is nice to see a friendly face," Mr. Big greeted her as calmly as he could, pacing back and forth and looking quite stressed out. "But unfortunately, you came at a bad time. I've been trying to reign on these small gangs that are out for my head. I've gave them a fair cut, a piece of territory and a few rights and this is how they repay me?"

He then picked up a chair and threw it hard to the nearest wall, causing to burst into many pieces, showing that an arctic shrew is WAY more powerful than his size suggests. He tries repeating the same process with any item big enough for him to carry, including a small table, tea set, lamps...anything that he can grab his hands on. All the while, he was still ranting without really sounding angry. More like he was almost… enlightened. The tranquil fury he was displaying and his violent actions were enough to terrified his polar bear bodyguards, despite towering over him. I honestly don't blame them for feeling that way; I cringed whenever I recall the rug incident that nearly got me "ice".

"Punks these days don't know anything about honor or respect anymore," Mr. Big spoke with a calm but dark tone, as he threw another chair at a wall. "They think having a large group and a ton of guns allows them to do whatever they want without thinking of the consequences. Thugs like them don't deserve to be crime lords and jail is too kind for them either. I would have them ice right now and..."

While Mr. Big continued ranting on how he'll "punish" the gangs for taking actions against him, Carrots held Fru Fru at her palm, along with her child, also named Judy; long story short, Fru Fru named her kid in gratitude of Carrots saving her ten months ago.

"Fru Fru, are you and your daughter alright?" Judy worriedly asked.

"I wish we were, Judy," Fru Fru sadly admitted. "I'm more worried about daddy's health. If he keeps this up, he'll have a heart attack."

"I'm sure he'll calm down after he vent his stress out," Judy assured her, just as Mr. Big threw a coffee table on the wall. Unable to find anything else to throw, Mr. Big took a deep breath and took a seat in a new chair that his attendant had brought him.

"Mr. Big, I think this is a good time to calm down now, at least for your daughter and granddaughter," I calmly urged him. "Either the gangs will kill you or the stress you've been having will."

"Nicky, you...you...you..." Mr. Big was about to retort, before looking at Fru Fru and his grandchild and let out a sigh. "You might have a point," he took in a few deep breaths, before finally calming himself down.

"Better, daddy?" Fru Fru asked her dad.

"Not a lot, but...I'm feeling a bit better, Fru Fru," Mr. Big assured her, before facing us. "Nicky, Judy, I will assist you two in dealing with these uprising gangs, but only so I can maintain the control that I once have over them."

Something tells me that Mr. Big was only doing this for Carrots' sake, but I wisely decided not to bring it up.

"Thank you for lending us a helping hand, Mr. BIg," Judy appreciate his help.

"Do you know any gang that might want you out of the picture?" I asked.

"They all want me out of the picture, Nicky, but they tend to be quiet about it, as they know speaking about it would be a death sentence for them," Mr. Big calmly explained. "They were not as blatant as they are now, but they're still cowards who hide behind their troops instead of going after me themselves. There's no honor about it all."

"This is going to be a problem," I muttered to myself.

"However…" Mr. Big continued, as Judy and I listened. "Some of my informants told me that the gangs that are uniting against me have been referring to important people among them in numbers. The numbers have little meanings behind them, but it also makes it hard to identify anyone specific."

"Do you think there might be more than one leader out to get Mr. Big, Nick?" Judy quietly asked me

"If that's the case, that makes them more dangerous," I quietly replied back.

"I already have figured out there are five leaders in total, but I was only able to figure out and identity two of them," Mr. Big informed us. "300 is Danny Fuego, leader of the Salamanders in the Savannah Central and 500 is Tyrone River, leader of the Flood in the Rainforest District and appears to be the mastermind behind this. The other three have been… disposed by their own troops," Both Carrots and I were shocked by this.

"Why would they do that?" I managed to ask.

"They were, smartly, against the plan to oppose me so they were removed. I'm told it wasn't pretty either."

"This is very helpful, Mr. Big," Judy thanked him, seeing nothing else to gain from continuing the story. "Do you have anything else that could be useful for us?"

"Just be aware of what you and Nicky are getting into," Mr. Big cautioned us. "There's a war going on out there and if you two are found out to be get involved, it's a death sentence. These gangs hold no regard for whose lives they take and will shoot back when they feel like it."

"Noted," I simply remarked. "Thanks for all the help you can give to us."

"Be careful out there, Judy. they're quite dangerous," Fru Fru showed concern for Carrots.

"Don't worry, Fru Fru. We'll be careful and we won't tell anyone we're involved either," Judy promised Fru Fru and we took our leave, before Mr. Big spoke to us for the last time.

"I'll be in touch, in case I have more information to share you two with," Mr. Big spoke a serious but non-threatening tone to reassure that he would help us.

"We appreciate that," Carrots accepted.

"Oh before you go, why didn't you tell me you and Nick were dating," Fru Fru piped up, causing us both to recoil. Of course she would know.

"Because we're not!" Judy responded, clearly irritated by the constant repetition of our close friends taking shots at us. Fru Fru just laughed at her reaction.

"Sure you're not. Well let me know when the wedding is," I had to practically drag the now irate Carrots out of the offices as she fired back at Fru Fru by furiously denying anything going on between us. I think I saw a smile on Mr. Big's face though so at least he was enjoying it. As we left his office, headed straight for the entrance and right outside, before heading back to our patrol cruiser and waited for Carrots to calm down. She finally spoke once she got her temper down.

"Nick, who should we go after first?" Judy asked me, as she opened up the passenger's side. "Both Danny and Tyrone sound very dangerous."

"We don't even know where they are right now, Carrots," I pointed this out, as I opened up the driver's side. "We'll have to take this one step at a time and report to ZPD what we know. Taking them out one at a time would be too risky as they would wise up eventually."

"You're right, Nick. We should play it safe for now, since we don't know what we're getting into," Judy suddenly become worried. "How do we explain to Chief Bogo where we got this information from one of the most feared crime boss in Zootopia? Maybe we should tell him that Mr. Big owed them one for saving his daughter by sharing this info."

"Or we could tell Chief Bogo that we got it from an anonymous source," I suggested. "It may not be the best answer, but it be a convincing one for Chief Bogo. He can't legally ask us to disclose an anonymous source after all."

"That's right, Mr. Big wouldn't like it if we mentioned him to Chief Bogo," Judy sheepishly rubbed her head.

"Not to mention he'll have us "ice" for revealing something important too," I added. "Anyway, let's' head back to ZPD and informed Chief Bogo what we know."

With that, we drove back to ZPD to report back on what might be another big case, but little did we realized that this case will prove to be a fight for our lives.

At least...If we were to do it on our own.


	19. Assault

**Chapter 19: Assault**

The information Mr. Big gave us was really crucial to whatever case Chief Bogo and the rest of the officers were involved with and it couldn't have come at a better time too. After we arrived back at ZPD, we immediately headed straight to Chief Bogo's office with Mr. Big's information, but kept his involvement out of the picture; it was the least thing we can do after he helped us out and we didn't want to get onto his bad side either. For the next several minutes, we explained to the chief about the many gangs that were possibly involved in trying to take over the Zootopia's criminal underworld, including gang leaders Danny Fuego and Tyrone River and their intentions to kill Mr. Big.

"So...what do you think?" I nervously asked Chief Bogo.

"...Where did you say you got this information from?" Chief Bogo asked, suspiciously looking at us.

"Just an anonymous source, chief," I replied.

"He hung up before we could ask his name," Nick calmly added.

Chief Bogo looked quite peeved, but not enough to anger him to interrogate us. He continued to stare at us for a moment, before he sighed and spoke back.

"Thanks for sharing me this important piece of information," he gruffly thanked us. "You two are excused."

We both got up, left his office and headed straight back to our police cruiser, as we drove off back to Savannah Central to resume our assigned patrol duty. Besides the usual misdemeanor and minor law violation, the rest of the day around Savannah Central went by pretty smoothly. Then, the afternoon arrived and our stomachs growled in hunger. We both let out a light laugh at our stomach's synchronizing with each other.

"Looks like it's off to lunch, Judy," Nick remarked. "So, where do you want to eat?"

I pondered for a moment for any place that we can try out; after awhile, I decided to settle down on a familiar place

"Let's head over to Lyon's, Nick."

"Ah, is it because I didn't go with you the last time?"

"I just don't want to have to hear about it later," I playfully retorted.

"Well, now that you've brought it up..." I sternly looked at Nick for a moment who just smirked at me, before I sighed and playfully smiled at him.

"Just don't do anything that will require me to smack you."

"And if I do, where will you be smacking me?" Nick simply said before I punched him in the shoulder, winning a chuckle of pain from him.

"Next one's going to the face," I threatened with a smirk as Nick rubbed his shoulder. "Anyway, chauffeur, let's head off to Lyon's," I ordered in a snooty voice.

"As you wish M'lady," Nick responded in a voice just as snooty.

He then turned the cruiser around and we were off to Lyon's for lunch. As we were cruising our way to our destination, though, I glanced at Nick and noticed that he was becoming quite worried.

"Nick, what's wrong?"

"I just realized we might be walking into something bad if everyone sees us in a public place together," he explained. "Just seeing us together will only reinforce the misconception about us."

"...So?" I calmly asked, not seeing what the big deal was.

"So? So?" Nick looked at me incredulously. "We're heading into a busy area that is filled with a lot of people, Judy. How could you be calm about it?"

"I just am, Nick," I sincerely replied. "We'll just casually stroll in and act like nothing happened. Besides, you're usually calm about things like this and I've never seen you look so worried before."

"Of course I'm calm about most situations. I'm just happened to be thrown off a little," Nick defensively insisted.

"You have a weird way of defining what 'little' is," I spoke amusingly. "You looked like you just crapped your pants and are now praying I didn't notice."

"Fair enough," Nick muttered and we continued to head towards Lyon's. A few more minutes of driving later, we finally arrived at our destination, as we parked the cruiser, got out and headed to the entrance.

"You know, maybe you're right," Nick started to relax. "I shouldn't care what anyone thinks about us, as long as you're doing alright."

"Exactly," I agreed. "I just wanted a nice day between friends and that's all I'm asking for."

"Greetings and welcome to…" Lyon trailed when she saw us. "Oh my, I didn't expect to see you two together. I would ask what's going on, but that is not my business to pry into."

"Thank you for giving us some space, Lyon," Nick appreciated her decision.

"No problem, Nick," Lyon happily said. "Anyway, where would you and Judy want to sit?"

"Somewhere far away the other patrons," I suggested.

"So far, they would barely know we were there," Nick cautiously added.

"Sure, I can do something like that," Lyon understood our reasons. "Follow me."

We followed Lyon inside, pretending to act casual around the patrons that were looking at us suspiciously, before making our way to a dimly lit corner in the building. It was a bit dark around the area and barely noticeable, but it was the perfect place for me and Nick to enjoy ourselves and avoid getting any unnecessary attention too.

"This is perfect, Lyon," I praised her. "This is just what we need."

"We appreciate it very much," Nick was thankful for Lyon's assistance. "You didn't have to go through with this."

"Don't worry, you guys. Customer's satisfaction will always comes first in my book and I don't want people to cause a ruckus about you guys either," Lyon assured us, as we took our seats.

"Still, we owe you big time for this," I insisted.

"We can't thank you enough for this, Lyon," Nick expressed his appreciation.

"Like I said, don't worry," she then pulled her notepad and pencil from her apron. "Now, what would you two want?" We looked at the menus and checked what was good to try out, before we looked at Lyon again

"I'll have a carrot salad and a fruit punch," I ordered.

"And I'll have a cheese and crispy grasshoppers sandwiches and a Cool Cola," Nick ordered.

"Alright then," Lyon jot down our orders on the notepad, before putting her pencil and notepad away. "I'll get your drinks right away," she turned around and headed straight to the kitchen to get our drinks, leaving us by ourselves at the table.

"Judy, do you get the feeling that Lyon is only isolating us because she felt obligated to do so? Like she's concerned about the satisfaction of the other customers and not us," Nick suddenly asked out of the blue.

"You know, I wondered about that as well, Nick," I admitted. "But we should appreciate Lyon for her help. She's keeping us from being ridiculed for something that doesn't exist and that's good enough for me."

"Yeah, maybe," Nick agreed with me. "Maybe it's just my lack of trust in others that's going off."

"That's why you need stop being suspicious about everyone and everything around you," I insisted. "Not everyone in the universe hates you and wants to make your life worse."

"I can't help feeling a bit paranoid, Carrots. It's just a product of my environment and I can't drop my guard down either."

"It doesn't matter, Nick. If people have a problem with seeing us around all the time, they'll just have to deal with it instead."

"I'm glad that you've taken everything I said yesterday to heart," Nick replied, reminding me of what he said yesterday. Something tells me he's having problems practicing what he's preaching. Just then, Lyon showed up with our drinks.

"One Cool Cola for Nick and one fruit punch for Judy," she handed out our respective drinks on the table. "Your foods will be ready soon. Until then, enjoy your drinks."

"Thanks, Lyon," we both thanked her, as she went into the kitchen once again for our meals, while we sip on our drinks.

"So Nick, any ideas on what kind of case we just stumbled into?"

"Probably be a whole lot crazier than the Nighthowler incident."

"Not to mention a whole lot deadlier."

"Yeah, there's that too..."

"Who do you think the other three leaders are?"

"Beats me. I never had strong connections to the criminal underworld due to my method of conning others. We'll just have to wait for Mr. Big to call us once he figure out who the other three are."

"We still have to be careful out there. Who knows what else we might run across."

"Good point, Judy. Whatever crazy shit is about to happen, we'll need to be prepare for it."

"Order up!" we turned around and saw Lyon heading to our table, as she handed me my carrot salad, before handing Nick his cheese and crispy cricket sandwiches. "Enjoy your meals, you guys."

"Thanks," Lyon accepted our thanks and went to help the next customers out, allowing us to enjoy our meals in peace.

"Anyway, I was thinking we should interrogate those thugs that tried to rob the bank a few days ago," Nick suggested.

"That would be a good idea, but they'll act like a wild pack if they saw me," I felt otherwise… They probably wouldn't be cooperative with me.

"Then we'll have to try something else," Nick was unfazed by my response. "Was anyone hurt in the robbery, Carrots?"

"There we no casualties at the robbery, but some were injured in the shootout. Why do you ask?"

"I'm just curious why they didn't caused more damage when they have the chance. It's like they weren't trying at all."

"...Now that you mention it, they didn't seem like very good shots. A lot more shots miss than they could have," the more I think about it, the more how unusual the robbery was. Those robbers weren't the least bit subtle by all accounts as if they were trying to alert the whole city to their presence.

"Where there any confirmed crimes that happened during the robbery?" Nick questioned me.

"To be honest, I wasn't so sure," I admitted. "Swift and I were caught up in the moment, so we didn't have the chance to check them out. It never crossed my mind until now, but there could be a record back at the station."

"We should head back to the station then and do a quick check," Nick insisted, before we resumed with our meals and drinks. After a few more minutes, we finally finished them, just as Lyon showed up with our bill.

"So, how was lunch today?" she asked, as she handed the bill to us.

"It was great as usual, Lyon," Nick answered with a thumbs up.

"They were delicious and the drinks were pretty good as well," I happily said.

"That's wonderful to hear," Lyon happily smiled, as Nick and I paid her the amount from the bill. "Have a nice day, you two."

"We will, Lyon and see you later.".

"Bye Lyon."

We bid our farewells to Lyon, before we headed out of the restaurant, got back into the police cruiser and drove back to ZPD once again for another new lead. We arrived at our destination after about twenty minutes, as we parked the cruiser, got out and went inside ZPD and straight towards Clawhauser's desk.

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise. I didn't expect you guys to be back here twice in one day," Clawhauser commented. "Let me guess, you've already solve the case?"

"I wish we were that fast, Clawhauser, but we have something important to ask you," Nick said to our friend. "Do you have a record of all reported crimes on the day of the Hog Vault bank robbery?"

"Of course I do, silly. Could you be specific on what you guys are looking for?" Clawhauser inquired.

"We just want to know how many crimes were reported at the same time the robbery took place," Nick explained. Clawhauser pondered for a minute or so, before answering Nick's question.

"According to the report, at least 7 crimes took place at the same time as the robbery," Nick and I stared at Clawhauser, shocked by his answer.

"Why didn't anyone noticed this sooner?" Nick questioned him.

"Many different people were reporting them at the time," Clawhauser defensively explained. "No one tends to look at these anyway unless they're profoundly curious since the system is automated. Kind of a design flaw if you ask me."

"Were these crimes connected in one form or another?" I was bothered that no one was looking into it.

"I don't know, Judy. Everything was quite hectic at ZPD when the reports were coming in. The only real connection to speak of is that they happened at the same time."

"But it still matched up with what Weaselton told us earlier: use a big crime to provide a cover of distraction for smaller crimes," Nick explained.

"Not to mention that some of the small time gangs are involved and working together to get rid of Mr. Big and claim everything from the city's criminal underworld for themselves," I reminded Nick.

"Wait a minute, you got this much information out of Weaselton? How does he know so much?" Clawhauser was astonished that a small time crook would know something this important.

"You be surprised by what you could learn when you need to avoid it. Weaselton wouldn't last long if he got in the way," Nick answered quickly, saving us from having to talk about Mr. Big's involvement.

"I guess that makes sense," Clawhauser accepted Nick's answer.

"Anyway, do you still have the complete records for all the crimes that took place?" I asked.

"It'll be helpful to get some information from the victims as well," Nick requested.

"I can make you a case file right now," Clawhauser got up from his chair and headed to the cabinet. "This might take a while, you guys."

"Take your time then," Nick assured him.

Clawhauser nodded his head and opened one of the drawers, thumbing through the files for the for an empty folder. After getting one, he printed the case notes and sorted them into the file before placing a name strip on the front reading...

"Syndicate?" I've never heard of them before. "Is it referring to a new gang around Zootopia?"

"It's a work-in-progress name for the case, Judy and I figure since there must be a large group behind it, I'd put a fitting name somewhere on the file," Clawhauser explained.

"It does make sense, considering the small crimes that took place in one day could be orchestrated by one group," Nick agreed before turning to Clawhauser, "One more thing: do you have any information on the connections of the robbers themselves?

"I would have to look it up. The interrogation is still ongoing and I don't have access to the files till they're completed. I will let you know immediately when I do get them."

"Thanks so much, Ben," I eventually accepted his explanation, before facing Clawhauser. "This is just what we needed."

"Stay safe out there," Clawhauser bid his farewell to us. "It looks like things are going to get really insane soon.

"We will, Clawhauser, but thanks," Nick appreciated his concerns.

We headed out and got back into our cruiser, before driving off to the closest place on the list; two minutes of driving later, we arrived at the location, which turned out to be a small time business that looked like it hadn't been open in a while with the store's name, "Wine's Trinkets", left unharmed by the damage. The sign on the door said "Closed till further notice".

"What the hell happened here?" Nick wondered, getting out of the driver's side, while I got out of the passenger's side and examined the store from top to bottom.

"Judging by the broken windows and the numerous bullet holes, it looks like it got caught in a shootout," I concluded, before I sadly sighed. "I feel bad for the people who owned this place."

"Hopefully they can help us find who's behind this," we got to the front door and knocked on it. A few seconds later, it opened up, revealing a young female hog in front of us.

"Um, hello there," she nervously greeted us. "What can I do for you, officers?"

"Hello ma'am. Hope we weren't interrupting anything," Nick replied.

"Can you tell us what happened to your store?" I asked with concern.

"It's not mine, but it belongs to my parents," she explained. "It was recently robbed a few days ago. My dad got hurt during the shootout and is recovering in the hospital, so I'm looking after this place while my mom is with my dad."

"I'm so sorry to hear that, ma'am," Nick offered his sympathy.

"Thank you," the young hog accepted it. "Are you and your partner going after the thugs who did this?"

"Once we find out who's behind it, we will," Nick assured her.

"We were also hoping if we could look around," I added. "Do you have anything substantial that you can give us?"

"I'm not so sure if there's anything left to investigate, but come inside if you think you could find anything important," the young hog stepped aside and let us inside the store to start our investigation.

"By the way, what's your name?" I curiously asked her.

"Sorry for not introducing myself so soon. My name's Stephanie Wine and my parents are the owners of Wine's Trinkets."

"I'm not so sure if 'trinkets' is the right word to describe this merchandises," I glanced back at Nick, who was looking at the numerous jewels and accessories on the display, before I took a closer look at one of them. To my surprise, they were of higher quality and looked quite expensive too.

"This is not what I would expect to find here," I commented

"Yeah, my parents and I are quite modest and we don't like to be very flashy with our items. We figure using the word "Trinkets" as part of the store's name would deter most robbers from stepping foot in here since they wouldn't be able to figure out that we also sell jewelry," Stephanie sheepishly explained, rubbing her head.

"I think that's a clever idea right there," I glared at Nick who looked like he was about to say something insensitive, who simply looked away from me without saying another word. I sighed and looked around at the store, before I noticed a camera in the high corner of the pointing towards the counter.

"Mind if we check the camera feed, Stephanie?"

"Go ahead and don't worry, it's working fine" Stephanie lead us to the counter, where there was a computer installed into it and it looked like it was programmed to capture the footage and place them into hour long files.

"Stephanie, what time did the crime take place?"

"I think it was around 1 PM," my eyes widen a bit upon hearing this; it was the same time that the robbery took place.

 _'So Weaselton was right. These robbers are committing big crimes to distract the small crimes that were being committed,'_ I thought about this, before facing Stephanie again. "Can we play the footage to see what was stolen?"

"Go for it, officer," she replied.

"Thank you."

I then played the footage on the day the robbery was committed, fast forwarding it until we reached to the afternoon and watch the events unfold right in front of us. Four hyenas walked into the store, point guns at Stephanie's father. He tried to shoot the robbers, prompting one of them to shoot his shoulder in response. What happened next left us mystified; instead of stealing the jewels and other accessories from the display, the robbers made their way to the counter and some of them took most of the money from the cashier, while the others went out of view for a moment, before returning back with a safe and they all left the store. Something about this robbery wasn't adding up.

"Stephanie, what was inside the safe?"

"Just a bunch of old photos and other sentimental junk, but we mostly keep most of our money in the bank in case we were going to be robbed, we could afford to have stuff stolen."

"Where they still planning to steal the jewelry?" Nick asked.

"That's just it: they didn't return for them," Stephanie explained. "After they got the money from the cashier and the safe from the back of the store, they simply left."

Nick and I were dumbfounded by Stephanie's explanation; how could these robbers be interested in cash and ignore everything else around them?

"Maybe these robbers wanted to fund their crime spree through cash alone," Nick theorized.

"But they would increase their funds more if they took the jewels with them," I countered. "What I want to know is why they left them behind instead of stealing them when they have the chance."

"Wait, I think I might know why," Nick seemed to remember something. "Back when I was I a con artist, I heard about fencing stolen goods. That it would take a lot of time to pull off and you have to deal with the middleman that wants a percentage of the profits. I think these robbers are forgoing their losses and stick to the paper instead."

"In other words, these robbers are going to pull something much bigger than a simple robbery," I concluded. "And something very soon too."

"Now you're getting the big picture, Carrots," Nick quipped.

 **"EEK!"** we heard Stephanie let out a terrible shriek, as we turned towards the front to see four hyena's standing outside, all armed with machine guns and aiming at us. We stared at them for what felt like hours, before one of them was about to pull the trigger.

"Shit!" I cursed, pulling Stephanie down for safety, with Nick ducking down with us, just as the thugs sprayed the store with many bullets, damaging a lot of the counter and it's contents in the display.

"Stay down, Stephanie! We'll handle this!," we pulled out our tranquilizer guns from our holsters and aimed at one of the robbers, hitting him with a well-aimed dart on the shoulder. As soon as he went down, his three buddies scrambled for cover, but Nick managed to take one of them down, prompting the remaining two robbers to turn around and shooting all over the place.

"You're dead, copper!"

"We'll fill your bodies up with lead!"

"Yeah, not happening anytime, assholes," Nick deadpanned, before he and I shoot them with darts, taking them both down in the process. "Well, that was a close one."

"Stephanie, are you alright?" I asked, examining the frighten hog for any injuries from the short shootout.

"I-I-I think I'm fine," Stephanie assured us, but was quite shaken from the experience.

"Strange…" Nick muttered, before we got up, went out and examined the unconscious robbers. "Looks like they're wearing the same outfits like the robbers a few days back."

"Let's bring them back to ZPD and find out what they know," we quickly handcuffed the four and threw them in the back of the cruiser, practically piling them on top of one another, before getting inside the cruiser.

"You have no idea what you are getting yourselves into, fuckers!"

"We'll have your heads on sticks soon!" Surprisingly, the full effects of the darts hadn't kicked in yet so Nick shot them a second time, knocking them out cold.

"Just lie down and think calming thoughts about the amount of gray walls and orange jumpsuits in your future," Nick dismissed their claims coolly.

"You guys will be spending a long time in jail to think of your selfish actions," I reprimanded them, before looking back at Stephanie. "Sorry what happened back there."

"It's fine, officer. I'm just grateful to be alive."

"Take care now," I said my goodbyes to Stephanie. "We'll have officers come by in case more show up.

"We got some creeps to take care off," Nick informed her, as Stephanie waved her goodbyes to us and we drove off to ZPD. "Shit sure hit the fan back there, Carrots."

"I never expect a hit squad to show up of all things, Nick. It's the last thing I would ever expect to happen to us," I said, before looking back and saw all four robbers snoring loudly, no doubt from the double dose Nick gave them.

 _'Thank goodness they passed out or I would have to crank up the volume from the radio,'_ speaking of which, I grabbed the scanner's mic from the radio and spoke through it. "Dispatch, this is Officer Hopps. We have robbers in our custody and all of them need a nice cell, over."

 _"Understood, Officer Hopps. Bring them over to-"_

Without warning, a large hummer appeared out of nowhere, hitting our cruiser like a charging train and spiraling us down on the streets, as Nick clung onto the wheel for dear life, trying to prevent the cruiser from flipping over.

"Come on! Come on already!" Nick desperately tried to maintain control and for a while, everything around us slowed down. By a miracle, though, Nick managed to stop the cruiser from nearly toppling down and regained control of the vehicle. "Let's get the hell out of here!" 

Nick immediately floored it, driving the cruiser at top speed, as the large hummer behind was pursuing us, with a few of its occupants leaning out of the sides, aiming their guns right at us, before firing.

 _"Officer Hopps, are you there? What is your current situation?"_

"Dispatch! Dispatch! We're under attacked at 5th Avenue and Cage Street, over!" I urgently called back.

 _"Understood, Officer Hopps. Dispatching help to your location immediately, over."_

I hung up the mic and glanced back at the large hummer that were pursuing behind us, as its occupants were filling up the cruiser with as much lead as they have on them.

"Gee, these guys won't quit! We have to lose them, Nick!"

"I'm trying to find a quick exit for us, Carrots!" Nick darted left and right, looking for any place to make a quick getaway, before he saw something that caught his eye. "Hang on! I'm going to make a tight turn!"

"Wha-" I didn't get the chance to finish, as Nick turned to his right to an alleyway nearby. Thankfully, that split second move might have saved us, as the hummer stopped dead in its tracks, unable to pursue us any further in the tight cramp alleyway. I can imagine the driver and his buddies glaring at us furiously right about now.

 _'Thank goodness we finally lost them!'_ I thought, relieved to finally get rid of those bastards.

We continued to drive through the alleyway for a while, looking on in shocked silence from our surprise ambush attack, before we were back on the streets and resumed heading back to the police station, but not before we turned the sirens on to get our destination without having to stop, until we finally arrived at the garage and Nick sums up the situation.

"Someone **REALLY** wants us dead."


	20. Cracked, Not Broken

**Ch. 20: Cracked, Not Broken**

Shit surely went straight to hell for us. One minute, we were bringing in some thugs back to ZPD for a holding cell; the next thing we knew, we were ambushed and chased around by a large hummer. Thank god that Carrots and I made it out alive and back to the station in one piece, but not before Chief Bogo called for an ambulance after he and the rest of the officers investigated the commotion; a few minutes later, we were being checked by the paramedics for any possible injuries, although we were both shaken up by our experience, especially yours truly.

 _'Godammit! That was one hell of a hit!'_ That large hummer rammed my side of my car like a goat on steroids, as I could feel my leg shaking up; the only thing that was keeping me conscious was the adrenaline rushing throughout my body and this deep, throbbing pain in my left leg.

I glanced back at Judy and noticed she was clutching her left arm tightly, as if a sharp knife had plunged deep into it. Looks like the adrenaline was starting to wear off for both of us.

"Hold still and let me examine that," the doe medic instructed, examining Judy's arm.

"That goes for you too, buddy," another doe medic instructed me.

 _'Yeah, cause I'm just chomping at the bit to go somewhere, aren't I,'_ I rolled my eyes, as I allowed her to examined me. After about a few good minutes, they were finally done with their jobs.

"You two need to get to the hospital for further examination right away," one of the medics informed us, before they both looked at me. "You too, bub."

"You heard them, Officer Wilde. You and Officer Hopp are relieved of duty as of now," Chief Bogo instructed us. "I'll send some officers down as your escorts when you get to the hospital."

"Thank you, Chief," we both thanked him. He definitely seems worried about us.

"You're welcome, but be on your guard just in case," Chief Bogo cautioned us.

"I wouldn't put up much of a guard in my state anyway," I wasted no time joking around.

"Nick, take this seriously," Carrots scolded me. "We just survived a shootout and then an ambush. For all we know, they might come back for us and this time, they'll be more prepared to shoot us down."

"I know, but I'm in no condition to do anything except do what I do best: being a snarky bastard," I smirked proudly, while Judy sighed back.

"I'm just glad we're alive, but I do wonder who wanted us dead and more importantly, why."

"We were getting too close, Carrots," I pointed this fact out to her. "The gangs that we're going up against must have found out about us and didn't like that we stuck our noses into their business."

"Do you think someone tipped them off?" Judy asked me.

"Maybe, but I'm more curious which gang would have the balls to kill us. Well scratch that, all of them do since they're all crazy enough to sacrifice their own," I thought about how they could have found out about us before it hit me.

 _'Well I'll be damned!'_ I couldn't say this out loud, especially with Chief Bogo around. It would be best to tell Judy about what I discovered when we were alone.

Carrots and I were then strapped in gurneys, as the medics helped us get inside the ambulance; as for our "acquaintances", though, they were being hauled away by a few officers, where they will be spending the rest of their days in a prison cell.

"Another chapter in our crazy lives," Judy quipped, as I half-heartedly laughed to it.

"Planning to make a book about it someday, Carrots?" I amusingly asked.

"If we make it through, Nick, then I might do something like that."

"Maybe the movie industry might make a movie about us in the future," I jokingly added. "Of course, I wouldn't mind if they make us more heroic and good looking."

"Of course you would like that, Nick. Your ego wouldn't have it any other way," Judy rolled her eyes at my remark.

"Whoever plays you in the movie will certainly look good for the role, in more than one ways," I grinned back at Carrots, as she was starting to blush.

"Do you really doing this now? In front of all of them?!" Judy motioned her head to the medics, who were chuckling at my joke.

"I'm just trying to lighten up the situation after the shit we've been through today, that's all," I insisted.

"You could have pick a better way of going about it," Carrots retorted.

"If that's how you feel then," I remarked, before the medics closed the doors and the ambulance drove off to the hospital. We remained quiet for moment, with the medics sat besides, keeping a close eyes on our vital signs very closely.

"We need two emergency beds for two patients upon our arrival. They are in stable condition but require further examination," one of them spoke through the mic, as I allowed myself to close my eyes and snooze off, or at least, I try to.

 _'At least we would have something soft to lay down,'_ I wondered, but I couldn't get that nagging feeling out of my head. _'Who the hell wants us dead_ this _badly anyway? One of the five gangs must have found out if they were bold enough to try and kill us, all because we want to prevent some gang war in Zootopia.'_

The more I thought about this, though, the crazier the whole situation was starting to become.

 _'Are we way over our heads on this case? Sure, there was the Nighthowler incident ten months back, but it didn't involved being chased by a large hummer and Bellwether isn't involved this time around. There's no intrigue like last time, but only war and no matter who wins it, everyone in Zootopia will lose.'_

Thinking about this was starting to become too much for me; I woke up from my brief nap and looked back at Judy, still laying down on the gurney and not troubled at the slightest. Nevertheless, I felt quite worried.

 _'Will we make it to the finish line when this is over and if so, in what condition? Will we just continue as if nothing happened or will we be so distraught by the madness we saw and felt that we'll just quit?'_ I tried to find the answer to all of these questions, but none of them have a definitive answer to them. I guess I couldn't have all the answers rushed to my head in the snap of a finger.

"Nick, what's wrong?" Carrots noticed the way I was behaving just now.

"Just thinking about a few things, but I'll explain it when everyone else isn't around," I replied. She smiled, knowing that I will talk to her, just not right this minute.

"Alright then, Nick. Thanks for the heads up."

"Yep," I appreciated her understanding my reasons, before we both felt the ambulance coming to a stop, as I have no doubt that we arrived at the hospital. We were then being wheeled out of the ambulance and into the building, but not before I could hear Carrots' protest.

"There's no reason to wheel me to the doctors. I can just walk my way there instead."

"I'm can't allow that, ma'am. This is just standard procedure and it must be followed," the doe medic explained

"If she ever followed procedure, I'm not sure how she'd cope," I quipped.

"And if you don't behave yourself, you'll be staying here in the hospital much longer if you know what's good for you," the doe medic darkly informed me.

"...Alright, I'll shut up. So violent," I got the hint and laid down, which seemed to please the medic, as she continued to wheel us down the hallway, before we arrived at the medical examination room and two doctors (one a ferret and the other a koala) approached us.

"Good afternoon, you two," the ferret doctor greeted us. "We'll be conducting a series of tests to determine the extent of your injuries," he then turned his attention right at me. "You'll be receiving more tests than your partner since it was your side that was hit, though. As for your friend, she'll have her arm x-rayed and examined."

 _'Gee, that'll be fun, doc,'_ I sarcastically thought and whistled to a random tune at the top of the head. Wish I knew what the title was about, though.

For the next several minutes at the doctor's office, we were tested on how bad our injuries were; just as the ferret doctor said, I was taking a lot more tests than usual, as he checked my sides for anything out of the ordinary, like broken ribs, bruises or cuts...anything that shouldn't be sticking out or shattered into a million itty-bitty pieces. Carrots, meanwhile, was examined by the koala doctor, who not only had her left arm x-rayed, but was examining it as well, making sure there were some feelings, sensation or any kind of reaction.

Eventually, we were done with the tests, as Judy and I laid down on our beds all by ourselves in the infirmary, while our x-rays were being examined by the doctors.

"Nick, did they find anything serious on you?" Carrots asked me.

"According to doc, my injuries are likely internal, but they haven't found anything serious yet," I answered. "How about you, partner?"

"My arm was bruised up, but I think I should be fine," she replied back. "Thank goodness my feet weren't shredded up like last week."

"I won't be lucky as you are, but I can hope," I joked, before I grew serious. "Judy, do you know how the gangs know about our involvement?" Judy was taken aback by my sudden change in mood

"I...really have no idea."

"Call me crazy, Carrots, but I think Mr. Big's mansion might have been either bugged or someone is watching it."

"Bugged?" Judy was very incredulous by my claim. "You mean..."

"One of the gangs must have been monitoring us. They must have seen us enter and leave Mr. Big's mansion. That's how they found out about our involvement," Carrots looked stunned for a moment, before her shock was replaced by fear.

"Oh my god! Fru Fru and her daughter might get caught in the crossfire!"

"Don't worry about it, Judy. Mr. Big would make sure they would stay safe," I did my best to assure her. "It'll be suicidal for them if they go after his daughter and granddaughter. He'll turn the streets red with blood if anything happened to her."

"I guess you have a point," Judy was feeling a bit calmer. "But we still need to find the five leaders behind this and stop them before this situation gets a whole lot worse."

"We need a lead first, Carrots and we'll find some by interrogating the goons that were taken into custody."

"Hopefully they'll tell us what they know about them," Judy said to me. "The same goes for the robbers too."

"Any kind of answers will be helpful for us. The sooner we nab one of the leaders, the better," I told Judy. "Mr. Big would have some developments of his own by now, so we'll have to check with him whenever we can."

"You're right, Nick," Judy agreed. "I hope Mr. Big could give us the identities of the three leaders and maybe their hideout too."

"It would be pretty helpful to find out where they're laying low right now," I commented.

Suddenly, the door swung opened, as we ceased our conversations and saw the same ferret doctor that was examining me a while ago and gave me such a serious look. From the way he was looking at me, I can tell it wasn't good news.

"Mr. Wilde, I want to talk about your injuries."

"...What's the problem, doc?" I was worried as hell when he said that.

"To be honest, you got off quite easy, considering the situation you were in. Most of it was just bruising. However, the real problem is your left leg. I examined the x-ray and saw a crack in your femur. The crack isn't big, but it's still there."

He then showed me the x-ray on the screen and sure enough, there was indeed a crack on my femur. All I could do was stared at him nervously, before I glanced back at Judy, who was just as worried as I was.

"...Is there any advice that you could give me, doc?" I hesitantly asked, before the ferret doctor sighed.

"You shouldn't walk anywhere unassisted for the next few weeks," I felt my heart sank down to my stomach once I heard his response.

"A few weeks of no walking?!" I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"I'm afraid so, Mr. Wilde," the ferret doctor replied. "Until then, don't try to put pressure on your leg."

"Nick, I'm so sorry this happened to you. Don't worry, everything will be alright," Judy sympathized with me, just as the same koala doctor we saw earlier showed up.

"Ms. Hopps, we need to talk."

"...About what?" Carrots worriedly asked, before the koala doctor sighed and placed an x-ray of her arm on the screen.

"Physically, your left arm looked almost fine, but if you look closely, there is a notable crack on your forearm."

Judy took a closer look at her arm and was shocked to see how big the crack was. Any bigger and it would have snapped. The moment she saw this, her ears dropped and looked down on the ground sadly.

"I'm afraid you'll have to refrain from using your arm for the next month or so," he informed Carrots, as she covered her face in response.

'Smooth move, doc' I shook my head, before putting my arm on Judy's shoulder. It was now my turn to sympathize with her. "I'm sorry this had to happened to you. We'll find a way around this mess."

We both gave each other a smile and a brave face, but secretly, I was quite worried about our situation and I'm certain that Judy was feeling the same thing about this as well.

"Both of you will probably need a cast right now, but good news is that you two can skip straight to the hard cast," the ferret doctor suggested.

"One for your arm and the other for you leg," the koala doctor added.

We both have mixed feelings about this idea; it'll be wonderful for these hard cast to protect our injuries and it wouldn't be a problem for us...except we're on a goddamn investigation and we still have no idea who wanted us dead. However, there were times that we have to fall back and this was one of them.

"Let's go through with the hard casts, doc," I replied. "It'll be better to have them for protection than take a risk without them."

"I guess it's better to play it safe then," Judy agreed.

For thirty long minutes, we waited for the doctors to put the cast on her left arm and on my left leg, respectively. The process, though was taking much longer than I imagined it to be and we have to stay still to make sure the process worked at all. Eventually, the process was complete and I got a green cast on my leg, while Judy got a purple cast on her arm.

"Casts come in all sorts of colors these days, don't they?" I looked at the green cast on my leg. "It's...quite the fashion statement."

"We're also stocked with designs for little kids too, like flowers and stars," the ferret doctor joked.

"It's very sweet that these kids have something like that for them," Carrots commented, as she admired the purple cast on her arm.

"Anyway, you're going to need these for now," the ferret doctor handed me a pair of crutches to use, so I don't ended up putting too much pressure on my leg. I groaned at the sight of them but grabbed them nonetheless, "You two have a nice day now."

We both left the infirmary right away, before we saw two officers standing outside the door; they were probably the escorts that Chief Bogo assigned us to. But upon closer inspection, though, it was none other than our friends Swift and Harris.

"This must be the first good thing to ever happen to us for once today," I was starting to feel a bit happy now.

"At least we're in friendly company now," Judy added.

"We're happy to see you two as well," Swift showed her appreciation for us, as she and her partner lead us out of the hospital.

"We'll be heading back to the station right away, you guys," Harris informed us, before getting inside the cruiser. "Chief Bogo wants a full report on your injuries first before he could make a decision."

We nodded our heads and we understand how serious Chief Bogo was when it comes to the safety of his fellow officers, before Swift turned the engine and drove us back to ZPD.

"Just out of curiosity, what happened out there?" Harris asked us.

"If you don't mind, do tell," Swift insisted, her eyes still fixed on the road.

"It's a long story," I sighed. "A very long story."

"It's one crazy story to share, that's for sure," Judy cleared her throat up. "It all began after we found a new lead and…"

For the next several minutes, we told our friends of what went down today: how we stopped four wannabe robbers from killing us and an innocent bystander, how we were taking our "acquaintances" back to the station to be booked for a cell and how we were ambushed by a large hummer that appeared out of nowhere, chasing us down the street like crazy people, before finally losing them through sheer luck. By the time we concluded our story, Swift and Harris, who had listened to us very intently, were speechless and didn't know what to say. Guess they didn't expect us to go through such a dangerous experience.

"You know, for a hit squad, they only managed to make a crack instead of a real hit," I made light of the situation.

"Nick, this is very serious," Harris was the first to break the silence. "What happened out there is no joke. You and Judy nearly died out there."

"Harris is right," Swift agreed. "The next time something like this happens, they'll probably aim their guns at your heads at point blank range."

"They do have a point," Judy acknowledged their concerns. "We should be more careful out there from now on."

"Carrots, we have guns pointed at us twice today and we both survived them," I reminded her. "I'll admit, we didn't leave unscathed, but that was because we were rammed by a large hummer, not at the barrel of a gun."

"But your partner has a point. Both of your safety is very important right now and if these five gangs found out about your current conditions, they'll do anything to take advantage of it," Harris informed us.

"You think I don't know that, Harris?" I looked at him very seriously. "Just because I joke around doesn't mean I don't know what's going on. I rather look on the brighter side of life instead of worrying something bad is about to happen around the corner. If I have to take risk at all, then that's fine by me."

Just as I said this, I could feel the cruiser being pulled over, before I looked out and saw that we finally arrived at ZPD. Once the cruiser was parked, we exited out of the cruiser and made our way towards Bogo's office, but after having a long day and with our casts slowing us down, Judy and I just wanted some rest.

"Damn, I never thought using crutches would be so tiresome."

"Don't remind me, Nick. Carrying this cast around is not a walk in the park for me either."

"That's because you're not walking with both arms, Carrots."

"Excuse me that my cast is not on my leg," Judy retorted. "Carrying this much weight on my arm is bad enough as it is in my state."

"It can't be that heavy. It's made out of fiberglass," I remarked.

"That's because you're not around my height," Carrots argued.

"Mine is still bigger than yours, so you still lose," I coolly said.

It took us several more minutes than it should have, but we finally arrived at Chief Bogo's office at last. I opened the door and sure enough, our "friendly" chief was at the desk, waiting for us.

"Officer Wilde, Officer Hopps, please come in," Chief Bogo instructed us.

We both nodded and went inside, while Swift and Harris waited near the door, as we took our seats in the office, before Bogo looked at our friends.

"Office Swift, Officer Harris, please wait outside."

"Yes sir," both Swift and Harris complied with his instruction and waited outside, as Chief Bogo turned his attention to us once again.

"Now, what are the extent of your injuries?" he asked us.

"According to doc, he told me that I cracked my femur during the ambush. It's not bad, but still can't walk for a few weeks and Judy's left arm suffered badly from the ambush and had to be in a cast for about a month," I explained.

Chief Bogo looked at us for a moment, before he let out a sigh, like he was relieved that we were alive and well. I didn't bother asking him about it; I figure someone like Bogo would rather showed the image of the macho cape buffalo for all the cops to see.

"Officer Wilde, Officer Hopps, you two will be taking a leave of absence effective immediately," we were shocked at Bogo's demands.

"Wait a minute, Chief Bogo! Nick and I are investigating on something big!" Judy protested.

"And we're getting close on this case too!" I sided with Carrots

"And now you two are not," Chief Bogo countered. "You two are in no condition to handle anything. Neither of you would fare well if you both get caught in the middle of a gunfight."

Judy looked like she was about to argue, but instead, she sighed in defeat, realizing that he made his point, as Bogo continued on with his explanation.

"It's best if you and your partner to leave Zootopia too. I can't let every criminal around here be aware of your injuries. I need to make sure two of my officers find a place to lay low and recover."

"But Chief Bogo, where would we go?" I cautiously asked.

"Anywhere but here, Officer Wilde," he answered. "I'll make the arrangements for you two right away. Just pick somewhere."

"That's going to be a tough one," I pondered which places that Judy and I should head to lay low for awhile. "I know a few vacation spots that are worth checking out."

"Actually, I was thinking we should head over to my family's place instead," I was quite surprised by Carrots' suggestion..

"Judy, I don't think bringing a fox like me to a place like **Bunny** burrow is such a good idea," I explained. "I'm not so sure if they're going to like the idea of me hanging around with them very much."

"Trust me, Nick. It'll work out fine," Carrots assured me. "My family gets along with Gideon after they got to know him more and they've been working well together ever since."

"I don't know if that idea will work out, Hopps," Chief Bogo looked like he had some reservation about her idea as well.

"Don't worry, Chief Bogo. It's three hours by car and the town is huge. Plus, it's mostly underground anyway, so no one would find us without giving themselves away," Bogo pondered about this for a few seconds, before facing Judy.

"Alright, Officer Hopps, you convinced me, but you and Officer Wilde still need to keep vigilant."

"I'm still not so sure this is a good idea," I expressed my discomfort.

"Worry about that later, Wilde," Chief Bogo simply said. "You two should pack up and leave immediately for the first train."

I tried to argue back at the chief, but I couldn't find the right words to use, before I sighed in defeat and try to give Judy's idea a chance. I just hope her whole family will be fine with me when I drop by at their place. As we left Bogo's office, I caught a brief glimpse of Judy's face.

She was smiling.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the late in the day release, I had a friend leaving and today was the last I'll see of him in person for quite a while.**

 **Also just throwing this out there but I've started posting videos on my YouTube channel. It's a gameplay channel and is still a work in progress since I've got to buy an Elgato and PC to put footage on. The name of the channel is the same as the name here "UnKnownSalvation" so it shouldn't be hard to find if you're interested.**

 **Till Next Time, Sal out!**


	21. Plan Beta

**Ch. 21: Plan Beta**

After our discussion of our situation with Chief Bogo came to a conclusion, Nick and I followed Swift and Harris out of the station and making our way towards the cruiser, so we could pick up our stuff up from our respective apartments, before we have to leave Zootopia...at least, that was what I wanted Chief Bogo to believe.

 _'Looks like Bogo actually took the bait I gave him,'_ I grinned to myself, as we got into the back of the cruiser. _'I can't believe he actually fell for it.'_

"Alright Judy, why are you grinning like that?" the moment Nick asked me, I knew it was the right time to answer his question.

"We're not actually heading to Bunnyburrow, Nick. We're going to continue the investigation by ourselves!"

"No way!" Nick was shocked I pulled a wool over Chief Bogo's eyes, before he smiled back at me. "Look like you got a 'little bit of Nick' in you after all."

"What can I say? I have to do something," I smirked,

Unfortunately for us, we spoke so loud that Swift and Harris faced us and were very incredulous by my claim. Thank goodness they didn't start the cruiser when I let slipped my outburst or Swift would surely have crashed.

"Are you serious, Judy?!" Swift was the first to speak up.

"What were you thinking?!" Harris demanded not a second after. They both looked like they were confused as to how to respond to this or even what emotion they were supposed to feel as I saw Harris shift from shock to confusion to slight anger before going back to shock to repeat the cycle again.

"I was thinking about finishing up the investigation. Once I get involved in an investigation, I won't back down, no matter what," I want to justify my action. Even though I'm at least self-aware enough to know that this is me just refusing to give up on something important.

"You got one working arm and your partner has a bum leg," Harris pointed out our injuries. "How are you two going to investigate with your conditions like that?"

"We'll find a way around it, Harris," I assured him, with Nick shrugging back, seemingly in agreement with me, before Swift let out a chuckle.

"I guess we can't change your minds then. Even if we wanted to, it might have been a pretty big 'maybe' on our part."

"Yeah, it wouldn't have worked anyway," I chimed in. "I take my job _very_ seriously and I'm not going to let a cracked arm slow me down."

"Meet the real Judy and Nick, Swift," Nick agreed. "Just because my leg is busted up, doesn't mean I'll let it slow me down," he then looked at Swift and Harris very seriously. "Will you two help us out on this?"

"It would be nice to find out more information with someone working at ZPD," I added.

For a moment, Swift and Harris looked at us with uncertainty, unsure of how to respond to our request. Finally, Harris cleared his throat up, ready to respond back.

"Let me get this straight: you want us to give you two information on the case you two got involved that put you on medical leave and you'll be spending your medical leave attempting to complete the same case that put you there in the first place while staying in the city that you were told by our boss to NOT be in but stayed in anyway because you both are so stubborn that it's a miracle you've survived this long?" he asked fearfully. "Not only that, but you also want us to work behind the scenes for this case as well, giving classified information to officers that are supposed to be on medical leave?" Harris finished his long-winded speech with a look of "you've gotta be shitting me" on his face.

"Yup," Nick nonchalantly replied.

"...I wonder if there are some jobs Swift and I could take after we get fired," Harris pondered out loud, looking a bit stressed out.

"Harris, they're asking us for our help and this case is going to get out of my control in the pace it's currently in," Swift argued.

"But Swift-" was all Harris could say, before we spoke up.

"You just have to trust us on this, Harris," I insisted.

"As long as Chief Bogo doesn't know what's going, we're in the clear," Nick calmly added.

"...I hope the case gets closed soon," Harris let out a big sigh.

"Let's worried about that later, Harris. Right now, we need to figure out our next move is."

"Which is why we need to head to Mr. Big right away," my suggestion nearly caused Harris to faint from stress and Swift almost dropped her jaw in disbelief.

"Do you think it's really a good idea to meet with one of Zootopia's most prominent mobsters?" Swift questioned me.

"Don't worry, Swift. We met Mr. Big a few times and we once saved Fru Fru from danger," Nick explained.

"Nick, _I_ was the one who saved Fru Fru from danger," I corrected him. "You weren't even around when it happened."

"Details, details," Nick shrugged.

"A...A...Are you sure it's still a good idea to seek out Mr. Big?" Harris was still trying to recovering from his fainting spell.

"Despite the reputation he has in Zootopia, Mr. Big is a man of his word," I replied. "He would never break a promise he makes."

"Unless you offend him, just like I did when I accidentally gave him a skunk rug," Swift and Harris were surprised by Nick's claim.

"Why the hell did you get a-" before Swift could say more, Harris interrupted her.

"I don't want to know."

"It's for the best anyway. I rather not remember that incident...at _all_ ," Nick shuddered of the incident that nearly got him 'iced'.

"You're the one that brought it up," I replied before turning to Swift. "Anyway, we need to head over to Mr. Big's mansion at Tundratown right away," I instructed Swift and Harris.

"Once we get our stuff first, of course," Nick pointed out.

"You got it," Swift understood.

Swift turned the engine on and we drove off to our respective apartments to gather our stuff. After packing as much as we could in our bags (long for me, but much longer for Nick since stairs proved difficult for a guy in crutches), we put them in the back of the cruiser and headed down towards Tundratown, arriving at Mr. Big's mansion several minutes later, before Swift parked the cruisers, took our bags out and headed towards the mansion.

"Oh man, oh man, oh man, I don't like this one bit!" Harris looked like he was starting to lose his mind.

"Chill out, Harris. Just stay calm and don't worry too much," Nick attempted to calm him down, as we arrived at the main entrance. "Also you'll probably not want to talk too much."

"We'll tell Mr. Big what's been going on and everything will be alright," I assured Harris, as I knocked on the door and waited. A few seconds later, it opened and we were greeted by one of Mr. Big's polar bear bodyguard.

"You here to see Mr. Big?" he asked in a rough tone.

"That's right and we have something important we want to share with him too," Nick replied, as the bodyguard continued to sternly stare at us.

"...Follow me," he instructed us, following his lead down the hallway and remaining silence along the way. Eventually, we arrived at Mr. Big's office, as our polar bear acquaintance opened the door, just in time to be greeted by the don himself.

"Good afternoon, Nicky and Judy and I see you brought company as well," Mr. Big greeted us. "To what I owe you this visit?"

"It's a long story, Mr. Big…" I began as I held up my cast.

Nick and I explained our current situation to Mr. Big, how we were attacked by four robbers in broad daylight at Wine's Trinkets and how we were suddenly ambushed by a large hummer that appeared out of nowhere, chasing us all the way throughout Downtown.

"...Before long, they had four other guys sticking their guns out on us, trying to turn us into swiss. We tried to outrun them, but they kept close to our tails, until I made a sharp turn into the alley," Nick explained.

"We were just fortunate enough to get away from them in one piece, but they also injured my arm and Nick's leg in the process," once we finished our explanation, Mr. Big looked quite displeased.

"I can't believe these punks would do something so cowardly and dishonorable towards two cops," he expressed his disapproval, nearly leaving claw marks on his own chair. "Of course, how do I factor into your plans?"

"We just need a place to hide out and continue our investigation outside of the police department," Nick explained. "Consider this as a temporary base of operations."

"We also want to know if you have updates on the three unidentified leaders as well," I added.

"You and Nick came in at the right time then," Mr. Big said with a smile. "I have information on the identity of the third leader and the location of Tyrone River's hideout."

We got excited upon hearing this, as we listened to what Mr. Big had to say

"The third leader is Victor Stripes and his gang, the Quick Bandits, are based out in Meadowlands and Canal District, while their rivals, the Sandmen and Deadman's Hands, are located in Sahara Square and Downtown, respectively. They've divided up the city as usual but do not seem to function as one unit. As for Tyrone River's hideout, he's laying low at the Nocturnal District, an appropriate place for a coward like him."

"Wait a sec..." Nick acted as if he figured out something. "Deadman's Hands must have been the one involved in today's ambush."

"That would explain why they got to our cruiser so quickly. They must have been alerted after we stopped the robbery attempt at Wine's Trinkets," I concluded.

"Deadman's Hands have always been a wild bunch, but they had enough restraint with their activities, but gunning down cops out in the open and using a vehicle to attack another one with their own men inside is insane!" Mr. Big spoke exasperatedly. "An attack like that can only tell us that you two are at the top of their hit list."

"Gee, that's going to make us feel special," Nick sarcastically remarked.

"If feeling special is what you want, when they're holding you and your partner at gunpoint, you can ask them to sign your cast first," Mr. Big joked and soon, he and Nick were laughing, while I laughed nervously with them, trying to ignore how dark that joke was, before Mr. Big grew serious once again.

"You two can stay here for as long as you need to. I have a guest room that is currently unoccupied. I hope you and Nick don't mind sharing the same room together."

"Actually-" before Nick could finished his sentence, I quickly spoke up.

"We won't have a problem with it, Mr. Big," I assured him.

"Judy, how are we going to help you out?" Swift spoke up for the first time and we turned to face her and Harris. Both of them have remained silent since they arrived at Mr. Big's mansion; being surrounded by a group of polar bear bodyguards didn't seemed to calm them down either.

"You and Harris just have to do is give me and Nick information that you got from ZPD, but make sure Chief Bogo doesn't know about it," I explained to Swift. "With a case this big, it won't be hard to join in on the team for it."

"Good things cellphones were invented for these kind of situations," Nick interjected.

"Nick's right," Swift agreed. "Harris and I could exchange any information we can find inside the cruiser. That way, no one would overhear our conversation and report it back to Chief Bogo."

"Works for me," Nick simply shrugged.

"All that matters is that we keep our involvements from getting out. If we get caught, there will be hell to pay," I cautioned everyone, as Harris shuddered upon hearing this.

"I...I...I don't want to face Bogo's wrath if he finds out that you guys didn't leave Zootopia!" Harris was starting to panic. Poor guy is no doubt having a pretty stressful day.

"Then consider that fear of yours as your motivation," Nick suggested.

"Besides, if our friends could it, then so can we," Swift started to feel confident.

"Um...I'll try," Harris accepted the ask, calming down a bit.

"That's more like it!" I was happy that they were willing to take the risk on our behalf. "Anyway, you two should head back to the station. Chief Bogo might be wondering where you two are right now."

"Will do, Judy," Swift simply said. "See you later guys."

"And be careful out there, too," Harris added, before they turned around and left Mr. Big's office, ready to drive back to ZPD immediately.

"Oh crap, I just left my car back at the station!" Nick face palmed in response. "I left my only ride back there!"

"You could inform Swift and Harris about it," I pointed this out to him.

"Yeah, yeah," Nick simply muttered.

"You two should get some rest now," Mr. Big turned to the polar bodyguard to his right. "Take them to their room."

"Understood, Mr. Big," he complied, motioning his head to us and we followed him down in the hallway, passing a few rooms along the way, before he stopped and opened the door to his right. As soon as we got a good look of the guest room, Nick and I were left speechless; not only was this guest room quite spacious, it had its own bathroom, a walk-in closet and a 60 inch HD flatscreen with surround sound. I could hear Nick squealing with excitement, like a boy being given the chance to ride a dinosaur for the very first time.

 _'Typical Nick,'_ I thought to myself, before we looked at the expensive furniture, such as the couches and beds, decorated within the guest room.

"Mr. Big sure knows how to spend...big," Nick remarked.

"He probably have some pretty fancy guests to bring over here or just want to impress them," I commented.

"Looks like we must be the lucky few to ever step foot into this room, Carrots."

"I'll be taking my leave now," our polar bear friend informed us. "You two get comfortable around here."

"Thank you so much," I thanked him.

"We appreciate the help," Nick thanked him as well, before the polar bear bodyguard nodded his head respectfully and left us alone in the guest room.

"We should make themselves at home then, Nick," I commented, before we started to unpack our belongings and get them ready to set them up.

"I'll take the right side of the room and you can keep the left side of the room," Nick suggested. "How does that sound?"

"That's fine and all, Nick, but does it matter which side is better than the other?"

"I'm just saying that we should make some boundaries, that's all," Nick shrugged in response. "Even though this isn't the first time we've lived in the same place, it's the first time we've shared a room together."

"I don't see what the big deal is all a…" I trailed off the moment recalled the time we were making out a few days ago. "Oh, I could see why you would find it awkward, but I doubt that history will repeat itself, especially in Mr. Big's guest room."

"I know something like that will not happen twice, Carrots, but it never hurts to at least some rules between us, just in case."

"You're right, Nick. We need to put some boundaries if we were going to be at Mr. Big's mansion for a while and continue our investigation at the same time," I agreed. " We should also pick up after ourselves and keep the room tidy. We don't want to make a mess around here."

"We might as well, Judy. We don't want to offend our host while we're here," Nick cautiously said.

"Good thing we have two beds from each side to sleep in this room," since Nick will be sleeping on the left side of the guest room, I have the right side of the guest room all to myself.

"Well, duh," Nick sarcastically responded. "That's one obstacle taken care of."

"We should also talk about shower arrangements, Nick. I prefer to take my shower during the morning."

"And I prefer night showers," Nick accepted the arrangement. "Well, that was easier than I thought it would be."

"That's nothing compare to changing our clothes and considering the casts we have on, it'll be difficult putting them on," I reminded him. "I'm lucky to have one good arm with me, but your situation is different. You'll still need help walking around."

"I wouldn't be too worry about it, Carrots. I got one good leg and a pair of crutches with me," Nick insisted. "I'm more glad I didn't lose my leg to a wolf."

"Speaking of which, how's that shoulder of yours?" Nick responded by moving his shoulder around for a moment, before facing me.

"Feels good as new to me, Carrots."

"That's good to know, but it's amazing that it healed up so quickly," I was surprised how quick Nick's recovery was.

"It doesn't hurt anymore than it use to, but I'm sure if I bumped into something with it, it'll hurt," he explained.

"Just like my feet from last week," I quipped. "Anything else we should talk regarding the ground rules we're setting up for ourselves?"

"None at the moment, but no doubt I'll think of something later" Nick spoke with a nonchalant wave.

Just then, we heard a knock on the door, as I got up and opened the door, before I saw it the same polar bear bodyguard who lead us to the guest room standing in front of me.

"Mr. Big has invited you and your partner for tonight's dinner and he suggested that you two look your finest."

"Ah gee, I didn't bring something like that with me," in response to Nick's claim, our polar bear friend pulled out two formal attires: a tuxedo that matched Nick's size and a black dress that matched my size, along with a pair of black stilettos.

"How did they manage to have something like that so quickly?" I inquired.

"I don't remember having my measurements taken," Nick quipped as he looked at the tux.

"It was Fru Fru who requested these outfits," he informed me. "She actually planned to invite you two for dinner for a future event, but since you and your partner will be staying here, she figured it would be the best time for such an occasion," he then handed me the outfits, before leaving us alone again.

 _'That was so nice of Fru Fru to do something like that,'_ I happily thought, putting the formal attires on the table.

"Looks like we'll have to clean ourselves up tonight, Carrots. We probably don't smell the best after the day we've had."

"Do you want to go first, Nick?"

"Not really. I want to see what's been going on in the news right now."

"Alright then," I picked up my black dress and stilettoes from the table and headed to the bathroom, before I heard Nick turning the TV on, as well as the news program being played.

"This is Peter Mooseridge of ZNN and just this afternoon, four brazen robbers attempted to pull off a heist at Wine's Trinkets, possibly endangering those inside the store."

"Possibly, huh? Yeah and in a rainstorm, you could possibly get a little wet," Nick muttered, as I closed the door and continued to hear the news.

"Thankfully, no one was injured during the shootout, thanks to the quick thinking and training of two officers, whose names are being withheld for the time."

"Now that's more like it," Nick sounded quite pleased, until he heard what Fabienne Growley had to say.

"Shortly afterwards, they were ambushed by five unidentified occupants after their cruiser was slammed by their vehicle, with several eyewitness filming the chaos."

"Really?! Why are you even withholding names, asshat?!" Nick exasperatingly exclaimed, while I was stripping my outfit down, before I took a good look around the bathroom; it was bigger than my own apartment, with both a shower AND a huge Jacuzzi bathtub. This is something that only a celebrity would only own!

 _'Mr. Big really does know how to spend big!'_ I headed to the shower and turned on the water, as I started to bathe myself, pouring some fur wash onto my paw and lathered myself from head to toe with, while being careful not to put some on my ears.

' _It's nice that we have a break for once,'_ I thought, continuing to clean myself up from head to toe. _'Still, we're not on a vacation right now. We have a job to do and we need to see it through.'_

After a few more minutes, I was done with my shower, grabbing the nearest towel to dry myself up, before putting on the black dress and stilettos and exiting out the bathroom like a new person.

"So Nick, how do I look?" once he heard my voice, he looked into my direction and looked flustered the moment he saw my appearance. I can tell that he liked what he saw.

"Well, I, um, that dress looks, um…" Nick looked as if was trying to compliment me, but he was fumbling with his words.

"I'll take that as a compliment," I giggled. "Anyway, it's your turn now."

"Sure," Nick quickly got his tuxedo from the table and headed into the bathroom as fast as his crutches could carry him, before closing the door behind him. I then turned my attention to the news to see that they were still talking about the heist that took place this afternoon.

"I can't believe they pulled something like that off today, though I was hoping they could have talked more about who was behind the wheel-" I proceeded to turn the TV off, as I already experienced the situation up close and in person. "If the police don't know anything about it, then the news doesn't know either."

After waiting for a few more minutes, before I heard the bathroom door opened and saw Nick exiting out, looking quite sharp in that tuxedo and I couldn't help but slyly grin back at him.

"Judy, why are you grinning to me like that?" Nick was confused by the way I was behaving.

" I never thought I would see you look so sharp, Nick," I casually commented. "I've never seen you in anything nice other than your police uniform."

"If you see something you like, you don't need to be shy about it, Carrots."

"Who says that I was shy?" I begged to differ. "I'm quite pleased how classy you look for tonight."

"...Alright then," Nick was weirded out by my answer, but tried to regain his composure once more. "What time are we supposed to be there for dinner, Carrots?"

"I'm not-" I stopped myself when I saw a little note that was on the stand next to the door. I picked it up and saw it was the time dinner was going to be served.

"6:30 p.m. is when they're serving dinner but the note specifies that we arrive about ten minutes early," I explained to Nick.

"Oh so… right now?" Nick remarked as he pointed to the clock that said 6:14 on it. "You'd think they'd at least give us enough time to get ready."

"Let's just get down there before Mr. Big gets angry with us. I don't want to be thrown out and have to come up with another plan," I opened the door with Nick following behind. We've been to the dining hall before for Fru Fru's wedding so it wouldn't be too hard to find our way back. Tonight should be a good night but why do I have the feeling it won't?

* * *

 **A/N Want to hear something stupid? So I post the chapter once (this is the second time btw) and Fanfiction did something weird when I did. It posted the chapter but did not tell ANYONE that it happened. Not even me. I didn't get an email like I was supposed to and I didn't check because I could see that it was posted through legacy story stats which gives me a preview of the chapter. Because the site was convinced that I didn't update, it didn't move the story to the top of the list. Which meant it's spent 8 hours sitting around where it was _last week even though I just posted a chapter_. Da Faq, Fanfiction?!**

 **So yeah, that's dumb and I'm mad. If you're one of my followers or have this as one of your favorites, can you please let me know that you received any notification (email or alerts) that the chapter has gone up. It's kind of concerning.**

 **Till next time, Sal out.**


	22. Big Family Dinner

**Chapter 22: Big Family Dinner**

If you had asked me this morning how I'd be spending my evening, I probably would have said alone at home watching T.V., not that I would be attending dinner with Mr. Big and his family in a tuxedo with Judy looking good in black dress. Of course, the main problem was not attending dinner, but finding where dinner was being held at. We were so used to being led everywhere that we had gotten lost as to where exactly the dining hall was. Judy and I wandered around the hallway for several minutes, passing by one room after another, with stained glass windows on the side glistened by the moon outside and yet, we couldn't find our way around this goddamn huge mansion. I half expected to accidentally find Mr. Big's secret torture chamber and then be hung up in it for entering. Fortunately for us, we bumped into one of the butlers/bodyguards (seriously, how tight is the security here?) working in Mr. Big's mansion and instructed us to make a left, then head straight three rooms down. At least we were getting warmer. Once we knew where to go now, we were making our way to the dining hall as fast as we could.

"At least we know where it is now," I quipped as we saw two guards stationed at the door.

"We have the butler to thank for that." Judy appreciated the servant's help. "Also, as long as we show up, I'm sure Mr. Big wouldn't get upset at us for being a few minutes late."

"You maybe but me..." I trailed off once I glanced at Judy and I never realized how hot she looked in that dress.

 _'I never thought Judy would look so classy in that black dress. Actually, everything about her is fine just the way she is, especially the curves she's showing off from her small frame, the high quality perfume coming off of her and she sure has a nice-'_

I couldn't believe I was fantasizing Carrots in such a lustful way. What is wrong with me?! Immediately, I gave myself a mental slap for giving myself such perverted thoughts! I maybe an animal, but I am not some sort of beast, for Christ's sake!

 _'Why the hell was I thinking about Judy like that?! That never happened before! I don't wanna like her for her body, I wanna like her for her!'_

"Nick, we're here now," Carrots informed me, snapping me back into reality and we looked into the dining hall in front of us.

I knew the dining hall was going to be big, but goddamn, not only was this place huge, but everything about it was the very definition of fancy itself; the expensive opulent, golden chandelier was beautifully hung up on the ceilings, rows of chairs neatly tidy up and organized (not to mention top of the line cushions sewn into them) and the mahogany table was big enough to house almost everyone from the mansion. But most of all, there was a smaller table on top of the larger table, where Mr. Big was sitting at, along with his daughter Fru Fru, her daughter Little Judy and a young male arctic shrew right besides her, wearing a tuxedo appropriately fitting for his size.

"Nick, Judy, you made it!" Fru Fru greeted us, as she waved her hand out from the dining hall.

"We got here as fast as we could," I coolly replied, before one of Mr. Big's polar bear henchman lead us down into the dining.

"We may have gotten a little lost but the important thing is that we're here now," Judy added, as we arrived at the table and took our reserve spots with Mr. Big and his family, before the bodyguard went back into his assigned position, leaving us alone at the table.

"Oh my gosh, this is so very exciting!" Fru Fru nearly squealed with excitement. "Nick, Judy, I want you two to meet James, the love of my life!" she then motioned her arms to the young male arctic shrew sitting next to her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," James greeted, shaking our hands, or rather, our fingers, before he focused his attention towards Judy. "Thank you for saving my wife. I really appreciate what you did."

"It was no problem, James. I was just happy she wasn't harmed," Carrots accepted his thanks. "Congratulations on having a beautiful wife and a lovely daughter, by the way."

"Why, thank you, Judy," James showed his appreciation. "I wish you and Nick the best of luck."

We both blushed upon hearing, though I felt more embarrassed about it than Judy was. Thank goodness my orange fur managed to hide my discomfort, so I wasn't too worried from anyone at the table to notice it.

"Oh, um, we haven't gotten there just yet," Judy sheepishly explained.

"Dear me, I'm sorry about that," James apologized, rubbing his neck.

"It's alright, James, but apology accepted," Judy assured him.

"It's nothing to worry a-" I stopped myself and realized what Judy had said to James just now.

 _'Did she say "yet" just now?'_ I was confused by her last statement. _'Why the hell did she say "yet" for?! Surely, she wasn't-'_

"So Nick, tell me about yourself," James spoke up, as I turned my attention to him.

"What do you want to know more about me, James? Do you have a preference on where I begin?"

"I just want to know what you use to do before becoming a police officer."

I turned my attention away from James for a moment and looked at Mr. Big, who promptly scowled at me. It's clear that he hadn't forgotten about the skunk rug incident, so I'll make sure that doesn't get mentioned at all.

 _'Alright, Mr. Big, I get the hint,'_ I nodded at him, before facing James again. "I use to work...at a lot of different jobs before I work for ZPD."

"...Is that it?" James asked, both confused and unimpressed. "There has to be more than that."

I paused for a moment, unsure how to answer back to James. I was worried what Mr. Big will do to me if I told James exactly what I did, but at the same time, I didn't want to leave him empty handed without some sort of answer, so the least thing I can do is to give him one, even if I have to leave out a few details of my previous lifestyle, particularly the more… unethical ones.

"I use to deliver lumbers around the city for construction workers to use for the buildings and I had sold some valuable and or high selling items as a salesman, but most of the time, I was just a freelance worker, going from one job after another," I explained.

"Wow, it's amazing that you have such a huge range in the workforce. How do you multitask so many jobs? You must be a natural at it," James was rather pleased by my answer..

 _'You have no idea how accurate that statement is,'_ I thought. "It's not so much about multitasking as it's more about dividing my time, though to be honest, the police gig is the longest job I ever had," I admitted.

"Are you fine dealing with danger on a daily basis?" James grew concerned. Buddy, your father-in-law is a gangster. I'm more concerned for you right now.

"To be fair, so long as trouble doesn't find me or Judy, I'm fine with it." I replied. "Although, I would enjoy the job more if it didn't took a turn to the extremes lately. I prefer it being quieter."

"Oh yeah, I've seen the footage of the ambush on the news," James commented. "That must have been dangerous at the time."

"Tell me about-" before our conversation could go any further, a few tapir chefs came out of the kitchen, with one of them carrying a tray of bowl at one hand, as they made their way to the table and handed out each bowl to us, before they respectfully bow their heads to Mr. Big and went back into the kitchen. We looked down at our soups and saw that we were served with tomato basil soup with parmesan as tonight's appetizers. Yeah I could tell just but looking at it what it was.

"Mommy's going to feed you right now," Fru Fru informed Little Judy, who was in the middle of a giggle fit, feeding her daughter some baby food, while we resumed with our conversation once more.

"So James, what did you do before you married Fru Fru?" Carrots asked him.

"I used to work at the office a while ago," James happily replied, much to our surprise.

"That's quite the mundane job you got," Judy admitted. "So how did you and Fru Fru even meet?"

"That's simple: I accidentally bumped into her on my way out of the office one day," James stated. "From there, we talked for a long time, finding out what we have in common, before she asked me out and the rest is, well, history."

"It could only have happen with Fru Fru making the first move," I joked, causing Fru Fru to glance back at me.

"For your information, I'm not going to let society's stupid traditions keep me from dating who I wants to date," Fru Fru sassily countered my claim, while James looked on quite amused.

"Fru Fru's feisty personality is the reason why I fell for her to begin with."

"I could see why," I muttered quietly, before clearing up my throat. "So James, what do you for a living now?"

"I can answer that, Nick," Mr. Big suddenly spoke. "For all intents and purposes, James is in charge of finances within my organization," we were pleasantly shocked that James was given such a big position.

"...I can't believe someone like James was given such a position," I finally spoke.

"Me either," Judy simply said.

"He wasn't given the position, Nick, he earned it," Fru Fru corrected me. "James is so good with numbers, that daddy trusts him specifically with keeping them in the black, as well as keeping daddy from going too overboard with his spendings."

"You don't have to exaggerate what I do at my job, hon," James bashfully said to his wife. Fru Fru however, was having none of it.

"If anything, I underplaying your importance," she looked at him with a glare that just read 'we aren't arguing this here'. "Oh James, you're more talented than you think," Fru Fru playfully insisted to her husband. "You deserved to be praised for handling something important like daddy's finances."

 _'I know one thing is certain: you two are certainly set for life,'_ I then glanced back at Carrots, who was staring at the happy couple intently. She had that look on her face like she wished she had something like that. _'Is it just me or is Judy starting to seem… envious?'_ While I was looking, Judy turned towards me.

"Hey Nick, is something bothering you right now?" she suddenly asked me.

"Nothing at all, Carrots," I replied as coolly and calmly as possible. "It's just that I never imagined ourselves at a dining out with Mr. Big and his family."

"I can't argue with that, Nick," she agreed. "I find this to be a bit surreal in it's own way: two cops like us having dinner with one of the most infamous gangster in Zootopia. The reporters would certainly have a field day if they found out about this."

"For our sake, let's hope not. If Chief Bogo found out that we were still here in Zootopia AND having dinner with Mr. Big, he would probably spontaneously combust," I was worried what Bogo will do to us if he ever found out about the situation that we were in. But for the moment, though, I decided not to think too much about it. "Anyway, let's just relax and enjoy ourselves tonight."

"Then let's go try the tomato basil soups out, Nick," Judy suggested. "We haven't tried them out since the chefs served them to us."

"Sure thing," I scoop a small portion of my tomato basil soup with my spoon and slowly sipped it. A few seconds later, my eyes beamed with excitement and my taste buds flared up. What the hell did the chef do to this soup?! "This is the most amazing soup I have ever tried!"

"Really?" Carrots was puzzled by my reaction, before trying out the tomato basil soup herself. A few seconds in, she looked quite awestruck, just as how I reacted seconds ago. "Wow, this really is an amazing soup!"

"Told you so," I quipped, before facing Fru Fru. "Mind if we get the recipe from you and try it out for ourselves?"

"I'll try to make a copy or two of the cookbook for you two to try them out," she assured us.

"We appreciate that, Fru Fru," Judy thanked her.

"No problem," Fru Fru said with a smile.

We continued to dine on the most delicious soup we ever had, until there was barely none from the bowls and just in time too; two tapir chefs showed up with what looked like the main course for tonight: The main course was a full bug/veggie stir fry coated in an familiar sauce but I couldn't be sure at first, sided with a cheesy au gratin and I think a creamy spinach bake. I took one whiff of that meal and I could feel saliva from my mouth suddenly building up.

"Wow, what a spread," I tried my best to control my hunger, as the chefs put the main dish on the table.

"I have to say, this meal looks so amazing!" Judy praised the chefs.

"Why, thank you, ma'am," one of the tapir chef thanked her, before facing Mr. Big. "We hope you enjoy the main course."

They both left the dining hall and headed back to the kitchen again, as I took a small piece of that stir fry coated meal of ours and taste it, feeling every bit of it surging throughout my mouth and assaulting my taste buds with an overload of flavor. It was that delicious!

"How fast could you get the cookbook out?!" I immediately asked Fru Fru.

"I'm afraid I can't make any promises," Fru Fru jokingly replied back.

"Fair enough," I accepted her answer and we continued to eat our meals. I tried to pinpoint exactly what I like more about it, but it was very hard to tell; the au gratin potatoes were wonderfully smooth, the spinach were surprisingly easy on the taste (despite my disdain for spinach) and the stir fry felt were crunchy, chewy, and just plain good. As for the sauce, I deduced that it must have been teriyaki sauce, a strange choice to choose for this meal, if I say so myself.

 _'Those chefs must have cooked the teriyaki sauce in such a way by adding in more flavors to it than it normally should have,'_ I wondered, as I continued chewing my meal down. _'Still, why teriyaki sauce to begin with? Surely they must have other sauces available to use for tonight's dinner.'_

"Honey, I know it has teriyaki on it but you can at least try _chewing_ your food," James joked, to which Fru Fru happily nodded and continued to eat her meal at a rather unladylike pace, completely disregarding what James just said.

"James, you need to be careful what you say to your wife," Judy nudged him on the side with her finger, as he let out hearty chuckle. I think he might be ticklish.

"Fru Fru didn't took offense to his remark," I pointed this out to Carrots.

"Nick, you don't know anything about women. They don't always reveal what they're thinking immediately," she sternly explained, putting her hands on her hips.

"I was just being honest, that's all," I defensively insisted.

"There are other ways to be honest, Nick," Judy countered. "If you're going to tell someone how they fell, then you…" I continued to fix my gaze at her and suddenly, I didn't feel like listening to her. Actually, I wasn't paying any attention at all.

 _'You look so cute when you're mad,'_ I happily thought. _'Who could say no to such a face like yours? Maybe the criminals on the street, but not me. I like you just the way you are.'_

"Earth to Nick, did you understand everything I just told you?" I blinked for a few seconds and I noticed Carrots was giving me the same stern look she had on awhile ago, like she was expecting to understand what she had said...oh boy, I probably should have paid attention back there.

"...What was it again, Judy?" I sheepishly asked and just as I expected, she sighed, before speaking up.

"What was going through your mind right now?" she asked me, rubbing her temples in annoyance.

"For your sake, it's best that you don't know at all," I quietly muttered and went back to eating, but not before Judy gave me her "We're talking about this later" glare are me.

 _'Take a chill pill, Carrots. No need to put a death threat at me. I've got enough of those.'_

Suddenly, the alarms blared loudly throughout the mansion and we all stopped what we were doing, we heard what sounded like loud marching, as we glanced back to the hallway saw numerous polar bear bodyguards, all armed to the teeth, passing by. The sight alone was enough for us realize something was going down tonight, because one of them quickly barreled down into the dining hall.

"Mr. Big, you and your family need to get to the panic room immediately!" the polar bear bodyguard proceeded to pick them up and exited the dining hall, with Judy following suit, while I hobbled my way with my crutches, before being picked up by another bodyguard as well.

"What's the situation?" Judy asked one of the bodyguards.

"We're expecting… "company" that's heading towards the mansion, so the place is on lockdown," the first bodyguard replied, much to our surprise, before we both looked at one another with worrisome looks.

"Do you think having so many enemies in one place gave them the will to face Mr. Big directly, Judy?"

"I'm more concerned with why they're even showing up this late at night, Nick."

"It doesn't matter why they're here tonight. Mr. Big and his family must not be caught in harm's way," the second bodyguard explained, just as he and his fellow bodyguards stopped right in front of a painting of a young Mr. Big. "Their safety is at the utmost priority!"

The first bodyguard then lifted the painting up, revealing a digital keypad and after putting in a few codes, we heard the sound of a heavy door opening up at the end of the hallway and lo and behold, it was your typical panic room, with built in concrete soundproof walls, a few T.V. screens placed on the panels to monitor the actions outside, a built in phone to communicate and the usual necessities that we take for granted these days.

"Over here!" the bodyguards proceeded to lead us into the panic room, with the first bodyguard putting Mr. Big and his family down on the bed, before handing me and Carrots pistols. "Stay with the family and make sure no harm comes to them!"

We both nodded our heads, understanding his instruction, as the panic room was sealed up, while our polar bear friends headed out to deal with out uninvited "guests". We looked back to Mr. Big and his family, to each other and finally, the pistols on our hands. We knew how to handle them of course, but I never imagined that we would actually have to use them in a real situation like this one! We always got by with the tranquilizer darts because they were safer and more helpful in the long run as we could take people alive. Not only that, but we don't have backup from ZPD either, so we're practically on our own out here.

"I take it he was the second-in-command?" I looked towards Mr. Big who nodded.

"So it comes down to this," Mr. Big was lamenting over the situation, before I glanced back to see Fru Fru and James hugging each other tightly, while Little Judy was starting to wail loudly.

 _'So much for a peaceful night,'_ I shook my head at our situation.

I pulled a seat out from the desk, sat down and aimed my gun at the door, waiting for someone to break in any minute now, with Judy doing the same thing. We were determined to protect Mr. Big and his family as well as each other at all cost and we could give a shit about our own injuries either. We were in a live or die situation that could end in bloodshed any minute now.

We continued to aim our guns at the door, our hands still shaking nervously, waiting for any of those bastards to barge into the panic room. But after a few good minutes, there was...nothing.

"Do you think it was a false alarm, Nick?" Carrots whispered to me.

"Let's not drop our guard just yet," I whispered back to her. "Let's give it a few more minutes."

But a few seconds later, the door began to open slowly, as we steadied our guns at the door. Much to our relief, though, it was the same polar bear bodyguard that escorted us to the panic room.

"Everything is alright now. Once the hit squad saw how tight security really was, they turned around and drove off," he explained.

"Tell them to be on alert throughout the entire mansion all night, Icemin. Allow no one to get the drop on them," Mr. Big instructed.

"Understood, Mr. Big," he assured him, as our acquaintance picked Mr. Big and his family up and escorted us out of the panic room.

"I can't believe tonight's dinner had to be ruined," Mr. Big shook his head in disbelief.

"Don't be hard on yourself, Mr. Big," I tried to assure him.

"No one got hurt in the end," Judy added.

"They're right, daddy," Fru Fru agreed with us. "We're still alive."

"As long as our little Judy is safe and sound, that's all that matters," James stated, while shushing Little Judy to sleep, before Mr. Big turned his attention towards us.

"Keep those guns on you at all cost. The next few days will be turbulent and you'll need them in order to survive."

Carrots and I looked at each other, before looking at Mr. Big. It was bad enough to have real firearms at all times, but to use them in an actual gunfight? We've never done something like that before. But considering the situation we were in, I guess there are times that we have to compromise our morals.

"We understand, Mr. Big," I let him know, despite my discomfort.

"We'll keep our guard up," Judy replied back and was equally uncomfortable as I was.

"That's all I'm asking. Right now, you and Judy should retire for the night. You two should begin working tomorrow. The sooner we can put an end to this, the better for everyone. Except of course, _them_ ," Mr. Big finished his sentence with a threatening tone, no doubt referring to the other gangs.

We respectfully nodded our heads to Mr. Big and said good night to the family, as we were making our way back to the guest room. As we're heading back, though, I reflected on what had just went down and I couldn't help but get worried about the situation we just found ourselves in.

 _'I can't believe we were this close in the middle of an actual battle with lives on the line!'_ I panicked. _'Maybe this wasn't the best idea after all and maybe Judy knows this wasn't a good idea either. Then again, she doesn't look all that afraid, but perhaps it's because she's pressing on through it regardless. Still, what kind of shit did we got ourselves into?!'_

"Is something bothering you, Nick?" I turned and feign happiness back at Judy

"Just the last fifteen minutes," I snarked. Of course something's bothering me. How is it not bothering you?

"Yeah, you're bothered by this," Judy saw through my lies immediately. "Look, I know that you're afraid of the situation we're in right now," she then let out a deep sigh. "But to be honest, I'm just as afraid as you are."

"Just glad that I'm not the only one shitting bricks right now," I sighed.

"It happens to all of us, Nick. We just have to deal with it," she explained, just as we finally arrived back at the guest room, as the polar bear bodyguard opened it and allowed us inside our room.

"Thank you for the assistance," I thanked him.

"We appreciate that," Judy added, as our escort bowed his head, before leaving us to do god knows what. We entered the room and quietly closed the door, leaving just us in the guest room. After switching out out of our formal attires and into nightwear, I made my way to the left of the room to sleep, covering myself with the silky blue blanket, while Carrots went to the right side of the room to sleep, covering herself with the silky red blanket and we both tried to get some sleep… at least, that was the idea.

"Nick, what happened to you at the table?" she asked me, having recalled our brief conversation at the table. "How come you didn't pay attention to what I was saying?"

"...I was thinking about something else," I vaguely answered.

"What were you thinking about?" Judy demanded, unimpressed by my response.

"It's nothing important, Carrots," I insisted, before I heard footsteps coming closer to my bad and I felt the sharpest pain yanked from behind me. **"YEOW!"**

"Got your attention now?" Judy mockingly asked, tightly gripping onto my tail.

"What the hell was that for?!" I demanded, gritting through my teeth.

"Simple: you gave me the wrong answer," Carrots calmly replied. "You wouldn't have ignored me unless it was important, so I want to know now."

I hesitated once more, not sure if she wanted to know the answer, but I could still feel the stinging sensation from my tail, as well as Judy's grip getting more tighter. So, I swallowed my pride and give her the answer she was seeking out.

"I was thinking about...you."

"I'm sorry, but can you say that again?" Judy sounded surprised by my confession.

"You heard me, Carrots. I was thinking about you," I repeated my answer, feeling my pride crumbling a bit.

"Why were you thinking about me for?" Judy sounded determined to find out more, so I sighed and decided to come clean about it with her.

"Whenever I think about you...I always find how lovely and beautiful you always look, whether you get mad, act childish or take bold actions and I always admire such traits you give off," I could feel my pride crumbled much more. "But most of all, you looked really sexy in that black dress tonight, especially how it showed off your curves, figures and you've never smelled so great with that perfume on too!"

My pride now completely in tatters and embarrassment now reaching its zenith, as I covered my face in shame and since I had my back behind Carrots, I couldn't tell if she was pissed off or just as embarrassed as I was. I didn't hear anything coming out of her and for a moment, there was silence between us. Finally, Judy gave me her response, for better or for worst.

"We can talk about this tomorrow. Let's just get back to sleep," I was annoyed by her answer.

"Really?! You're just going to force me to say all that and now you're like 'Nope! Can't do it! **ABORT! ABORT!** '! How's anyone going to sleep now?!" I retorted.

"Just shut up and get some sleep," Judy calmly brushed my ranting off.

"Yeah like that'll happen..." I grumbled, as Judy let go of my tail and went back to her bed, before we both tried to sleep it off. But after my forced confession, I don't feel like sleeping anymore and I suspected that Judy felt the same way too.

Tomorrow is probably going to suck.

* * *

 **A/N Sorry for the late chapter. I had to fill in for a co-worker so instead of having Thursday off like normal to put the finishing touches, I had to wait a day.** **After this, we will resume normal Thursday postings.**

 **In other news, I did receive a email from fanfiction about this chapter being posted so that's good. I can't tell if what happened last week was a freak accident or it's more common than I think.**

 **Till next time, Sal out!**


	23. The Hunt Begins

**Chapter 23: The Hunt Begins**

Okay, calm down, Judy. This isn't so bad that you pretty much wrecked a good portion of your friendship in one night with Nick. All I wanted was for Nick to answer my question; instead of allowing him to answer my question on his own term, I choose to force it out of him like a selfish coward. Maybe pulling his tail and forcing that out of him was a bad idea but I'm tired of him not being honest with me...

...Who am I kidding…?

I should have known better than do something so low and now, I felt disgusted by my actions. Now knowing what he was hiding, I guess I can understand why he didn't want to say it: He wasn't ready to. As I tried to go to sleep, facing away from Nick. I glanced back at him to see what he was doing and not surprisingly, he had his back away from me...and he had every right to do so.

 _'I can't believe I pulled such a shitty move on him,'_ I cursed myself. _'I'll have to fix it tomorrow...'_

I tried to get some sleep, but I couldn't fall asleep, no matter how hard I tried. That was when I realized something: I can't wait for morning to come by and I won't let the night end like this either. I should have done this from the start.

"Nick, are you still awake?" a part of me was still afraid whether or not he would actually wanted to talk to me. I waited for a few seconds, but it almost felt like a few months. Finally…

"...Of course I'm still awake, Carrots," Nick replied with irritation and bitterness. The "Carrots" felt like it did when we first met. A term to demean me.

"So...are you doing okay?" I gulped nervously, as I could feel sweats dropping from my face. I had no idea what I was doing and yet I can't stop.

"If by fine, you mean my tail still feels like I just freed it from a vice because my partner was being an ass, then yes, I'm very fine," Nick mockingly answered back.

"I'm so sorry about that!" I profusely apologized. "But I'm just sick and tired of acting like nothing ever happened between us! We're supposed to be partners, but we can't can be completely honest about it! We've already had this conversation and yet we're still not learning!" I heavily breathed in and out, before I heard Nick letting out a big sigh.

"You're right, Carrots. We do make things complicated for each other, but literally squeezing the answer out of someone is not the way to go."

"I swear, it won't happened again! I promise!" I sheepishly insisted. "Since you told me how you felt about me, I might as well tell you how I felt about you too. It seems pretty fair, after all."

"Go for it then," Nick urged me. "It's not like I'll squeeze your tail anyway. Not much to grab there," I let the comment slide with nothing but an eye roll before I continued.

"Fair enough," I took a deep breath and finally let the cat out of the bag.

"I had a dream last night, where I was confronted by myself and we chatted back and forth regarding my feelings for you. It was... surreal at first, but it also helped me realized that my feelings were a bit stronger than I thought, but I had to come to terms with it. When I heard that you felt the same about me, I felt happy, but I also panicked too. I didn't know how to react to it at the time."

"...And you grabbed my tail because...?"

"I wasn't thinking at the time. I just acted on my impulse," I confessed. "I didn't want us hiding anything anymore but that was hypocritical of me as I was still trying to figure out how to act on my own feelings."

"You have been doing that a lot lately," Nick joked. "Acting on impulse, I mean."

"I guess it wouldn't be me if I didn't," I chuckled back, but I was secretly happy that he was talking to me again. I also felt emboldened how he felt for me and now, it was time to take it to the next level.

"Nick...are you...willing to share a bed together?" I shyly asked. I didn't get an immediate response which made regret every decision I've ever made ever because they all got me to this moment.

"...I'm comfortable doing it if you're felt comfortable for it, Carrots," he replied.

A wave of relief washed over me. That answer was good enough for me, as I got off of my bed and saw Nick pushed himself from his position to make room for me. I hopped right besides him, our backs together and laid down, as we began to find comfortable spots to positioned ourselves in.

 _'Come on, I can do this,'_ I continued to shift my body for quite a bit, until I found my comfort zone. 'Wow, it's so warm and soft over here.'

"You comfy, Carrots?" Nick asked me.

"Oh yeah, it feels so good," I happily replied. "Have about you, Nick?"

"Still working on it," Nick answered back, as I could feel his back rubbing onto mine, still trying to find his comfort zone. But then, he stopped shuffling around and before I know it, I felt two arms grasping around me.

"EEP!" I yelped in surprise.

"Looks like I found my comfort zone," Nick quietly quipped.

"Ha ha, very funny," I sarcastically spoke back, before I managed to calm myself down. "Hope you're not disappointed that we won't be going any farther than tonight."

"I think I can live with that, Judy," he assured me, much to my relief.

"At least we know what's going on this time," I quietly said.

"And we didn't drink this time either," Nick quietly added, but I felt so nice and cozy that I just didn't have the will to pay any attention, as I allowed myself to fall asleep, my fear no longer bothering me, as I could feel his arm wrapped tightly around me. This was the proof I needed to know that he won't ever harm me.

 _'I always wonder what it was like to be in love and now she finally felt it in person at last.'_

* * *

I woke up pretty suddenly because I was so used to waking up early that I guess I can't sleep in ever, but I slowly opened my eyes and woke up in the same position I fell asleep in last night; I could feel Nick's arm wrapped tightly around me, much to my joy.

 _'Now that's more like it,'_ I smiled, before I looked towards the window between the two beds and saw that morning had finally showed up. I was disappointed by this, as I wanted to remain close to Nick, but we also have to do our investigation too. Lives are at stake and all that.

 _'All good things must come to an end,'_ I sighed and reluctantly pulled myself away from Nick's grasp and onto the floor, allowing myself to stretch my arms and back, earning some satisfying pops and cracks. 'Oh yeah, that hit the spot!' after another minute of stretching, I faced Nick once more, still sleeping like a log, before I nudged him on the side to wake him up.

"Nick, time to get up," I said softly, continuing to nudge his side.

"Give me five more minutes," Nick let out a disobedient groan.

"Sorry but we don't have five minutes, Nick," I pinched his shoulder just hard enough to get a pain response and suddenly, Nick immediately opened up his eyes and nearly jolted out of his bed. I nearly fell down on the floor, but I managed to compose myself at the last minute.

"AH!" he winced, clutching his shoulder, before he faced me and put two and two together. "Do you always have to be so violent towards me?"

"If you did what I asked once and awhile, I wouldn't have to be violent," I deadpanned.

"But sleep good. Getting up bad," Nick retorted as he scratched his head.

"And for me: I'm the alarm clock that will get you to wake up on time.," I countered. "Now come on, we have an investigation to do."

Nick grumbled to himself, before he forced himself out of the bed, while I went over to the closet and look for something to wear. I didn't have a lot in the way of clothes since I wasn't the kind of girl to have more clothes than I'll ever wear. A set of clothes for every day of the week is more than enough.

"Hopefully this investigation would be less thrilling than yesterday," I spoke up.

"Exactly what are we going to investigate?" Nick wondered.

"We should ask Mr. Big first and see if he has any leads that we can start from," I replied. "We also need to make sure that Harris and Swift interrogate the thugs we booked from yesterday. Hope they found something important out of them."

"I just hope Harris calmed down a bit. He almost looked like he was about to suffer a nervous breakdown," Nick pulled his phone out of his pants and dialed in Swift's number; a few seconds later, I could hear her voice from the speaker phone.

"Hey Nick, how are you and Judy doing today?" she cheerfully asked

"Hey Swifty, everything is fine and dandy," Nick vaguely answered back, before he got serious. "Have you and Harris found anything from the four thugs we brought to ZPD yesterday?"

"Geez, Nick, we just got to work!" Swift replied with a whole heaping bowl of sass. "At least let me punch in!" I had to stop myself from laughing at Swift's comeback.

"Okay just calm yourself, Swift," Nick apologized. "It's just that last night, Carrots and I were nearly attacked last night," I could hear Swift nearly gasping out loud, only to shush herself at the last minute. I stopped looking for what to wear and focused on the conversation.

"Are you guys alright?!" she expressed her concern. "Did anyone got hurt?!"

"Don't worry, Swift, we're perfectly fine. Whoever it was quickly fled after seeing the army of muscle at Mr. Big's mansion."

"...Have you and Judy got any sleep last night?" Swift asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Oh yeah, we slept very good," Nick replied with a smile.

"Wait, how do you know how well Judy slept?" Swift sounded suspicious to Nick's claim. I was concerned for a second but Nick didn't even miss a beat.

"That's because I asked her. Duh," Nick nonchalantly replied, as I could hear Swift grumbling in annoyance.

"How are the casts doing for you guys?"

"Judy's doing fine, though it's another story for me. I have to avoid putting too much pressure on my leg or it'll hurt like shit. I'll admit, it doesn't hurt as much as yesterday, so I'll get use to it," Nick explained. "Of course, It takes a bit longer for me to change outfits, but simple for Judy. Hell, the cast is kind of wide so it'll be hard to put on pants. Maybe I'll just go underwear only." I rolled my eyes, as Nick snickered at his own joke.

"...I'll pretend I didn't hear that last part," Swift deadpanned. "The last thing I need is a pantless Nick running around in my head."

"Better in your head than on the street," Nick quipped.

"Anyway, Harris and I have to get to the meeting. We'll call you later if have more info and we'll be careful too, Nick. We'll make sure we won't make ourselves targets."

"If it comes down to it, make sure your lips are sealed. Talk to you later."

They both hung up their phones, just as I came out of the closet, wearing a low-key pink blouse and a pair of black jeans.

"They'll be fine on their own, Nick. They have their jobs to worry about right now," I informed Nick, who just shrugged

"I just wanna make sure nothing bad happens to them, that's all," Nick insisted. "It would look bad on us if our protégés got hurt."

He then hobbled his way to the closet, as I sat down and waited for him to change. It was at least a few long minutes which was strange as Nick was never picky about how he dressed, but Nick came out of the closet, now wearing a blue plaid shirt and a pair of khaki pants.

"I'll admit, this look suits me pretty well," Nick admired his new looks.

"In your dreams, Casanova," I chuckled.

"Admit, you love it" Nick then looked at the coats in the closet. "We'll probably need them in case we start our investigation in Tundratown," Nick suggested.

"That would be nice," I nodded in agreement, as he pulled out two from the closet and handed one to me. We then grabbed the pistols we were handed last night and left the guest room and made our way downstairs to the study room, where Mr. Big, along with Icemin, were waiting for us.

"Ah, Judy, how did you and Nicky sleep last night?" he politely asked us.

"Good," I replied.

"It was simply wonderful," Nick added, trying to embarrass me or something.

"That's good then," Mr. Big was quite pleased when he heard our answers; after last night, I guess he could use some optimism for a change. We also understood how crazy things were about to get from now on.

"Mr. Big, do you have any idea of where we can start?" I asked.

"I'll let Icemin fill you in," Mr. Big motioned his head to his right hand polar bear.

"Just put them into the GPS and you two can begin your investigation," Icemin then pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to us. We looked at it for a moment and noticed what looked like an address: 2432 Leak Street as well as instructions to meet at the rooftop of the building.

"I got this," Nick pulled out his phone and put the coordinates within the GPS, before he faced me. "Carrots, do you think I should be going with only one leg?"

"You got two hands, so you can hold the gun steadily, but I have to work around that with only one arm," I answered. "Besides, after last night, we should be ready."

"You got that right, Judy," Nick nodded in agreement. "If I have to contribute by being quiet and sneaky, then so be it. After all, that's how I've done business for all my life."

"Considering our current conditions, we''ll have to use stealth in our investigation," I also agreed.

"I have a few people on standby, in case things go south," Mr. Big informed us. "Even so, you two need to be on guard when you're out there. They won't be able to mobilize so quickly to bail you out in seconds."

"Thank you, Mr. Big," I thanked him.

"We really appreciate the support," Nick showed his gratitude.

"Do you two need a ride? We can have a driver drop you off discretely," Icemin offered his assistance to us. Nick looked at me for a moment, before I looked back at Icemin.

"We just need a car and we can handle it from there. You and Mr. Big done so much to help us, so we want to return the favor."

"I understand," Icemin nodded his head, respecting our decision, before throwing us the keys. "There's a car available in the garage for use. Also, you two are more trained than anyone else in the room. Just use your heads and you two should be fine."

"We'll make sure of that," Nick assured him.

"And we won't let you down either," we then left the study room and headed down to the garage, and saw a nice black but not very cheap car. I guess it was to better blend in to where we were going. I got behind the wheel with Nick in the passenger seat. The car was way nicer on the inside which was weird. After adjusting a few things to make it easier for me to drive, we pulled out of the garage and begun the investigation.

"Judy, I just got the location for the hideout," Nick showed me the GPS. "According to the GPS, our destination is at the Rainforest District, home to the Floods."

"Well, I'll be damned," I muttered, as we continued off to our destination.

"Do you got a plan to get into the Flood's territory, Carrots?"

"We'll have to stay in the shadow, remain quiet and if possible, interrogate the leader of the Flood," I explained.

"I doubt the Flood's leader would be at this hideout," Nick expressed his skepticism. "He wouldn't be caught hanging around with a bunch of bottom grunts. Though considering how Mr. Big is sending us there, there must be something important there."

"Gee, I didn't thought about that," I rubbed my neck, as I realized Nick made a point. "Still, maybe one of the grunts might know what's going on. Even if the information we get is minor, we would have something to follow up on."

"But it won't be enough for us to nabbed their leader."

"That's true, Nick, but we could at least figure out why the Flood and their four rivals are working together to take down Mr. Big."

"Do you really think they're doing it for more than just getting rid of Mr. Big, Carrots?" I started to notice rain droplets hitting the car, informing us that we were now in the Rainforest District. And apparently it was monsoon season because it was just pouring.

"I don't know for sure, Nick, but I don't want to make conspiracy theories either. For now, let's just conclude that they're just in it for the money and want to take Zootopia to themselves."

"Works for me, Judy," Nick then looked into the back seat and saw something. "Leave it to them to be prepared," Nick pulled it to the front and I saw that it was an umbrella.

We continued to drive to our destination for a few more minutes, before we pulled over near a building just a few blocks away, parking our car in a nearby alleyway, before we got out and continued our investigation on foot. Fortunately for us, the trees around the Rainforest District as well as the cloudy sky made the district dark enough to hide in and it was pouring heavily too. In other words, it was the perfect place to be quiet and sneaky.

We snuck around within the shades that the trees provided us, remaining as quiet and discreet, silently moving through one alleyway after another, with only our umbrella as our main defense against the elements. Of course, our casts were starting to slow us down, especially for Nick; he had to be careful not to put too much pressure on it or he would have alerted everyone if they heard his cries of pain. He also couldn't use the crutches since they were too much of a dead giveaway since he would make noise every time he tried to move.

"How are you holding up, Nick?" I asked.

"Like my foot is on fire," Nick quipped back, as I rolled my eyes at his remark.

"Right…" I simply said. Ask a stupid question...

We continued to sneak around for who knows how long it, but we finally came across an abandoned warehouse in full view. We looked down on the GPS and the paper and sure enough, this was the place.

"According to the paper, we have to meet our scout on the rooftop," Nick checked the paper just to be certain, before he looked up to see it was a four story building. "Oh crap, it'll be a long way for me to get there."

"You'll just have to grin and bear it," I suggested.

"Oh yeah, I'm all about grinning and bearing it," Nick sarcastically said, before we went over to the stairs near the side of the building and made our way up to the rooftop...which took us more than ten minutes to arrive at our destination, Nick muttering curses under his breath.

"Took a..bit longer...than I thought...but at least...we're here," Nick painfully remarked, before we looked around the rooftop and found...no one. The rooftop was covered in a tarp so it was even darker than before. It was also barren as there were only a satellite dish and a ventilation machine humming.

"Have we've been stood up?" I asked, quite shocked. Mr. Big wouldn't lead us on a wild goose chase.

"That can't be right. We got the right address," Nick asked, looking around the rooftop suspiciously.

"You came to the right place, bub!" a rough, squeaky voice shouted.

We were startled to hear this voice out of nowhere and searched for the source around the rooftop, but we still couldn't see anyone.

"Um, where are you?" I asked.

"I'm down here," we looked down and were shocked to see that standing in front of us was a rat, wearing a small black beanie, a white shirt and blue pants that fit his size. It didn't took us too long to realize who he was.

"Of course, it makes sense now: if you want to send in a scout, they have to be small enough to go in and out without getting detected" I was impressed how creative Mr. Big was.

"The hardest thing about this job is getting to the location in question since it takes like three years for me to run a mile," the rat remarked. Like it was nothing, he continued and introduced himself. "By the way, the name's Franklin Rattelli, but you two can call me Franky."

"It's nice to meet you, Franky," I shooked his tiny hand. "I'm Judy Hopps and this here is Nick Wilde."

"Hey," Nick greeted him, before shaking Franky's tiny hand as well.

"So Franky, have you found anything important that could be quite helpful to us?" I questioned him.

"Sure," Franky replied with a shrug. "But first, can one of you pick me up? I just need you to move me to front edge of the rooftop. I got something to show you guys."

Nick and I were puzzled by Franky's request, but he seemed quite serious about it.

"I don't see the harm in it," Nick shrugged.

"Hang on tight," I lowered my hand down, allowing Franky to get onto my palm, before we took him over to the front edge of the rooftop, just as he requested.

"See that building over there?" Franky pointed to a dilapidated building across the street. "I just got back from a recon and saw one of the Flood's top guys laying low in there. Apparently, he got injured yesterday and headed into the one place no one would think to look: a low class hangout for grunts. He kicked most of them out and left only a few bodyguards for protection since he couldn't have anyone figuring out he was there but obviously, it didn't help."

"Thank you so much for this information," I appreciated Franky for giving us something vital in our investigation.

"I almost forgot: he's got three bodyguards: one grizzly bear on the second floor and two, a boar and an arctic wolf on the first. All of them armed to the teeth," Franky informed us.

"Of course, the big cheese always needs armed thugs," Nick muttered in annoyance.

"Correction, it's a top guy, not _the_ big cheese," Franky reminded him. "However, he might know where Tyrone River is hiding out at."

"In that case, let's go "talk" to this "top guy" as soon as possible," I was feeling quite confident.

"First things first, Judy, we need to take out the guards. I doubt they'll be in a talking mood and will spray us with bullets the moment we show up," Nick explained

"That's while we'll be going for the stealth approach, Nick," I argued. "However, with the cast on your leg, it'll draw their attention a lot sooner, so I'll think of something creative that'll help you out," Nick cringed when I brought this up, even though what I said was somewhat truthful, before quickly calming himself down.

"Don't worry, Carrots. I'll manage," Nick said like it was nothing.

"Then listen up, because I got a plan..." I began. "We'll have to get the attentions of the two guards on the first floor by luring them out from their posts and lead them to a place that they can't be found. Once we've taken care of them, we'll deal with the last bodyguard, before we go inside and find out where Tyrone River is."

"Seems like the best course of action we got, as long as don't attract too much attention," Nick agreed, before he and I faced Franky. "What's the best way for us to get inside?"

"There's a blind spot at the building's right side and the guards rarely check the area out," Franky pointed to the right side of the dilapidated building. "It has a door leading to the basement, but it also a pretty sturdy lock."

"Leave that to the pro," Nick smirked. "I have a knack for picking locks, so it'll be quite easy for me. Plus, we could use the basement as a perfect setup for an ambush."

"Then we better get going then, Nick," I instructed him.

We carefully made our way back down to the ground floor; after ten minutes, quietly headed off to the building's right side, making sure we weren't seen. After we looked around to make sure no one was around, Nick pulled out a few tools that I didn't even know he was carrying and began to pick the lock, carefully fiddling with it; in about half a minute...he managed to unlock the basement door.

"How did you get it open so fast?" I was shocked that he opened that lock like it was nothing.

"Heh, I could pick locks in my sleep," Nick calmly replied..

"Should I know about any other illegal activities that you have done?" I wearily asked, arching an eyebrow at him.

"We're both breaking into someone's property. You have no ground to stand on, sweetheart," Nick quipped.

"...Let's just get the ambush ready."

We made our way down into the basement and I took a good look around the room; it was quite big and empty, so there weren't many places to hide. However, there was enough space from beneath the stairs and not only that, it was barely visible for anyone to see through, which is exactly where I can hide.

"Perfect," I hid under the stairs, while Nick grabbed a glass vase nearby, weighing it with both hands, before looking down on the ground. Nick then unceremoniously dropped the glass vase, shattering it into pieces. The loud crashing noises was enough to alert the bodyguards from above us.

"What the hell was that?!" one of the bodyguard confusingly spoke up. Nick, now successful in alerting them, took position behind a pile of boxes where he wouldn't be seen.

"It must be coming down in the basement. Let's go check it out," another guard insisted, sounding quite suspicious as well, before we could hear them marching away from their positions and making their way towards the basement.

'They fell for it,' I thought, before I heard someone stomping on the stairs. I poked my head out and saw only the boar bodyguard was down here, looking around the basement with just his flashlight, eventually finding fragments of what was once the glass vase.

"I wonder if something got knocked o-" was all he could get out, before I smacked him sideways with my hard cast, as he dropped down almost immediately, while I cringe in pain for making such a move on him. I might legitimately break my arm but this thing is just too effective.

 _'Just ignore it for now. You can do this,'_ I took a deep breath and let it out, forcing myself to push through the pain.

"Wow, you sucker punch him real good," Nick stated, emerging from his hiding spot.

"You try doing it yourself," I quietly retorted.

"Hey buddy, what's going on down there?" we could hear the boar's friend calling from above; not surprisingly, he got none, as we could hear him marching down to the basement. "Hey man, I don't know what shit you're trying to pull, but-"

"Stay where you are or we'll blow your brains out," Nick warned him quietly, as we both had our guns pointing directly at him. The moment the arctic wolf saw us aiming our firearms, at him the arctic wolf looked like he was about to wet himself, realizing just how screwed he really was. Without a second thought, I pistol whipped his face, knocking him out cold.

"We should find something to bind and gag them in case they wake up," Nick suggested.

"Good idea, Nick," I look around the basement for quite a bit for something that we could use; eventually, there were some nearby cables and rags on the pile of boxes at the corner.

"We could use these on them," I went over to the corner and took the cables and rags with me, before we proceeded to tie up the two bodyguards up and stuffed their mouths with rags, ensuring that they won't be calling out for assistance.

"That takes care of them," Nick commented, dusting his hands, before we quietly walked out of the basement and closed the doors behind us. We surveyed our surroundings and noticed the lone grizzly bear bodyguard looking around, probably searching for his friends.

"Looks like we have one guard left to worry about, so we'll need to get his attention right away," Nick noted. "Once that's done, we can finally get inside."

"We could use the same stunt that we pulled off in the basement, but considering how alert he is, we should be ready for the worst," I suggested.

"Don't worry, I got this," I turned around and saw Nick picking up a loose brick off the ground. This building is not in a decent state of repair and if Nick can just pull bricks out, I wouldn't be shocked if it just fell down.

"What are you-" before I could finished my sentence, Nick aimed the brick at the grizzly bear bodyguard and with pinpoint accuracy, he threw it and managed to hit him squarely on the head. The guard was left dazed by the surprise attack, staggering left to right.

 _'Not what I had in mind, but it'll do,'_ I rushed towards him and socked his face with my cast, knocking him out cold, but not before I flinched from the pain.

"I think after your arm heals, you might just keep that cast on permanently," Nick joked.

"If my hand wasn't in pain right now, I'll consider it," I quipped, holding the cast for a moment, before the pain went away. "Right now, we need to get upstairs and find out what this guy knows."

With this in mind, we marched right upstairs, intending to confront one of Tyrone River's top guys. I don't know what kind of answer we'll be getting in our investigation, but we'll find out what we have gotten ourselves into, for better or for worse.

* * *

 **A/N For those wondering why I didn't put the beginning in the last chapter, it's because I wanted to shift POVs. Just throwing that out there.**

 **Till next time, Sal out!**


	24. Cowboy Cops

**Chapter 24: Cowboy Cops**

Now that Carrots and I took care of the bodyguards, we quietly made our way inside their shitty excuse of a hideout, looking around each corner for any other surprises we might have missed. I had to basically bite my tongue because walking around feels like someone is repeatedly stabbing me in my calf. Thankfully for us, there really were just three bodyguards in this dump so that's nice that there's not going to be some guy crawling out of the woodwork to rearrange my face as well as my leg. We continued to make our way up to the second floor, eventually arriving at the hallway, as we looked for anything out of the ordinary.

 _'Franky said he was injured so he'd likely be in one of the bedrooms...'_ we continued to look around the hallway, checking each abandoned room we could find, before we came across a rusty door; I jiggled the doorknob for a moment and strangely, it was unusually locked. _'Bingo!'_

I nudged Judy's side and motioned my head to the locked, rusty door in front of us. She immediately understood what I was hinting and we both slammed our shoulders at it with all of our might, forcing the door to open wide, as we made our way to into a bedroom.

"Freeze!" we shouted, as we found a lone hyena resting on a makeshift bed...and wearing nothing but his boxer shorts too. Goodie.

"What the fuck?!" he cursed, shocked by our presence.

"Put some goddamn clothes on," I plainly told him.

"I wish I could, copper, but I couldn't even leave my own bed," our hyena friend claimed and revealed his heavily bandaged midsection at us, while we flinched at the sight. That definitely would do it.

"Who are you and what happened?" Judy demanded, as we continued to hold our guns at him.

"The name's Lorenzo Vargas, buns…" he introduced himself, my skin crawling at "buns", "And if you must know, me and another gang member had a...disagreement. The argument started small at first, before shit hit the fan after that son of a bitch decided to shoot me in the side. Luckily, I got away since the bullet entered from my front side, missing anything serious. If I had moved a few inches, it would have missed me completely and I wouldn't have to hang out in this stupid joint."

"You're one lucky bastard, Lorenzo," I dryly remarked. "Now, what was this "disagreement" all about?"

"I ain't telling you nothing, coppers!" Lorenzo angrily rebuffed us. "You put enough egos in a room and they'll argue what color the sky is!"

"And there are enough egos in _this_ room to kill one another for even the pettiest of grudges. We all know that you would rather be alive than be a dead body on the floor right now," Judy countered.

"You two wouldn't kill me, buns. You coppers would be out of a job. Not only that, you'll be sharing the same cells with the same criminals you've been putting away," Lorenzo gave us a smug look, trying to call out our bluffs.

"Guess what, Lorenzo? My partner and I aren't with the police right now, so technically, we could do whatever we want with you. Do you see any witnesses?" I smirked as I gestured to the emptiness of the room. "As far as anyone's concern, no one is even aware that we're here right now," Lorenzo was starting to sweat the moment I casually told him this. I'll admit, giving death threats that I could actually follow through with and most likely get away with was a very new and very unpleasant experience but do what you have to, I guess.

"So, we could do this the easy way...or we can do this the hard way," I then grinned at him, my way of showing how serious I was being that I just point the gun at his leg to say "we'll start here". Is it bad that I'm enjoying watching him squirm?

"...The horse I have in this race isn't all that reliable anyway..." Lorenzo relented. "What do you want to know?"

"We want to make sure that a gang war with Mr. Big ends before it begins," Judy explained, before she sighed. "We also want to know is why are five gangs working together to take down Mr. Big."

"Are you serious, buns?" Lorenzo incredulously asked, as if it was the dumbest question Carrots had ever given to him.

"What do you mean?" Judy was both confused and curious by Lorenzo's response.

"What I mean, buns, is that Mr. Big controls so much territory in Zootopia, we got nothing to gain from our livelihood anymore! By getting rid of that old arctic shrew off his throne, we can actually make some real money again."

"Well, you don't exactly have the element of surprise anymore. Not only that, but you and the rest of your buddies choose to go after him _and_ his family. That, my friend, is one of the biggest mistake you idiots could have ever made in your dumb lives," I sternly berate his stupidity.

"Nothing's worthwhile is without risk and everyone knows that, copper," Lorenzo tried to justify his actions.

"In that case, you should risk your life then by meeting Mr. Big in person yourself," the moment Carrots made that suggestion, our 'friend" Lorenzo nearly shit himself upon hearing this.

"Oh, shi-" before he could have a chance to react, Judy promptly clocked him with her cast, knocking him out cold.

"Do you think it's too dangerous to move him in his current state?" I asked her.

"We have to do something, Nick. Besides, if we had left Lorenzo here, he could have informed the rest of the gangs about us. We can't take that chance," she argued.

"Good point, Carrots, but we need to find a way to carry him back to our car first. With one good arm and one good leg, we won't make back quickly enough," I wondered about this for a moment, before Judy looked outside and sure enough, there was something that caught her attention.

"There's a car outside that we can use to drive back where we came from, Nick."

"That solves one problem," I remarked, before I realized what we were about to do next. "How many laws did we broke today just to catch this one guy, Carrots?"

"We've broken a lot of laws during the Night Howler incident too, ya know."

"How do we even have jobs still?"

"Because we're the best around at what we do. Anyway, let's give him some pants and him out of here."

We both gave Lorenzo a pair of pants lying on the floor for him to wear, before I grabbed Lorenzo's legs and Judy grabbed his arms, dragging his sorry ass off from his bed and carried him back downstairs, all the while being careful not to put too much pressure on my injured leg. After a few long minutes, we managed to leave the building, but not before we spotted the unconscious bear bodyguard that Carrots knocked out not so long ago.

"I'll be right back," I dropped Lorenzo's leg and made my way to the bear bodyguard, rummaging through the pockets of his suit, before I pulled out a set of keys from the pocket. "Bingo!"

I made my way back to Judy and helped her dragged Lorenzo again. I was about to use the car's alarm to locate our temporary getaway vehicle, but I noticed a blue flames logo on it. I then looked at the white car in front of us and it had the same logo from the set of keys.

"I shouldn't have expected anything less," I chuckled.

"At least we know that car is the one we want," Judy remarked, before we made our way to the white car, dumped Lorenzo in the back seat like a ton of bricks and we both got into the car that was too big for us. I told Judy to work the pedals while I steered and that worked out well enough though that was definitely the most awkward way I've ever driven a car. Once we arrived at our parking spot, we both looked around, making sure that it was just us and our hyena "friend". After looking around for a few more seconds, we quickly got out, grabbed Lorenzo and threw him into the back of our car, before we drove back to Mr. Big's mansion as fast as we could.

"Nick, what kind of information do you think Lorenzo will give us?" Judy asked me, as I continued to drive back to our destination.

"Hopefully something useful and not full of shit," I replied and shrugged my shoulders, but I was left wondering with a new mystery. "What was someone like Lorenzo doing in the Rainforest District anyway? It's not exactly the best place for a hyena to be in and that district belongs to the Flood too."

"Now that you mention it, he should have went straight back to a familiar district like the Savannah Central instead," Carrots wondered about this as well, before I shook my head.

"It's not too important, Carrots. The information that Lorenzo might have is and since he fears meeting Mr. Big in person, I bet he'll spill the beans just to save his own hairy ass."

"That's the plan," as soon as she said this, we finally arrived back at Mr. Big's mansion and pulled into the driveway, just as Lorenzo was starting to wake up from his beauty nap. Two polar bears then suddenly showed up at our car and opened the backseat, with one grabbing Lorenzo's arms and the other put a gag in his mouth, before they dragged him into the mansion, as we followed them inside shortly afterwards.

 _'He sure doesn't know when to quit, does he?'_ even after being captured, Lorenzo was putting up a fight, trying in vain to free himself, as Carrots and I continued to follow the two polar bears down the hallway, until we made our way into Mr. Big's study, as the mobster took a good look at him.

"Icemin, who exactly is this?" he asked, as Icemin checked the Floods' folder, looking through a few papers, before facing his boss.

"His name is Lorenzo Vargas and he's the Flood's lieutenant, sir."

"I didn't think the Flood would take in a hyena into their organization," Mr. Big was quite intrigued and puzzled by this information, before he faced Lorenzo. "Now, tell me about the Flood."

Lorenzo did nothing but angrily muffled back and staring down at Mr. Big.

"Remove the gag," Mr. Big ordered, as one of the polar bear removed it out of Lorenzo's mouth, allowing him to speak again.

"You're to bark one last bark, you fucking old arctic shrew!", Lorenzo insulted Mr. Big, prompting Icemin to punch him in the stomach hard for disrespecting his boss.

"Lorenzo, what do you know about the Flood?" Mr. Big demanded, disregarding his insult altogether.

"I won't tell you squat. I'm a dead man anyway," Lorenzo replied.

"I'll ask you again, Lorenzo: what do you know about the Flood?" Lorenzo growled at Mr. Big, before Icemin cracked his knuckles right in front of him; I guess Lorenzo cringed at the thought of receiving another hit on his poor stomach, as he finally relented to Mr. Big's demands, finally ready to answer his question.

"You want to know where River is don't you?" Mr. Big nodded before Lorenzo continued, "Most of the time, I receive orders over the phone. Tyrone is so frightened of getting "iced" by you that some of us believe that he's not even in Zootopia anymore. He always talks with his underboss in person, but other than the underbosses of their own gangs, it's impossible to track him and the other four bosses down."

"Nice. Fucking beautiful," I shook my head upon hearing Lorenzo's claims.

"Looks like finding even one of the bosses is going to be more challenging than I thought," Carrots added.

"Considering what happened today, the under-bosses are going to make themselves scarce around Zootopia," even Mr. Big agreed with us. "However, thanks to Franky, we've picked up Lorenzo's bodyguards in the building they were in and we'll either hold them or drop them off to the police."

"Thank you for taking them off the streets, instead of "icing" them, Mr. Big," Judy appreciated his help

"You're welcome, Judy. I'm saving my wrath for the five bosses instead. As far as I'm concerned, Lorenzo was just doing as he was told to, because he has a life he wishes to live," Mr. Big explained.

"Looks like you have a lot of time in jail to think what you and your friends have done today," I smirked at Lorenzo.

"I hope you enjoy time in there as well when this is all over," Lorenzo retorted.

"I can revoke my kindness right now if you're feeling suicidal enough," Mr. Big threatened Lorenzo, causing the hyena to immediately shut up and for a moment, I thought I heard him whimpered in fear. "Icemin, dropped this grunt off to the police."

"Yes sir," Icemin obliged, taking Lorenzo with him and was about to drag him out of the study room, when...

"Wait, what about the Flood's underboss?" Judy spoke up.

"I almost forgot about that," Mr. Big apologized, before facing Lorenzo. "Whatever you know about him, tell us now."

"Yeah, sure, whatever you say, Mr. Big, sir!" Lorenzo fearfully told him.

 _'So_ now _you felt like cooperating with us. Typical,'_ I rolled my eyes, unimpressed by his cowardly actions.

"His name is Niccolo Duval and he's staying at 8342 Rain Lane, but that's all I know. I swear!"

"Thank you for your cooperation," Mr. Big was pleased by Lorenzo's answer. "Now, get him out of my sight."

"Understood, sir," Icemin continued to drag Lorenzo out of the mansion, leaving just me, Judy and Mr. Big in the study room.

"Did he just say 8342 Rain Lane? But that's part of the upper district," I remembered and compared to the slums we were in a while ago, it was pretty much "picture perfect" up there. Not only that, but only the wealthy could afford to live in such a place. I thought Lorenzo said they had problems making money. No, they just want the money Mr. Big makes.

"There'll be more security at the upper district compare to the ones we've faced, so a full frontal assault is certainly out of the question," Carrots noted. "Even sneaking in would be extremely hard for us."

"Not to mention we can't use the same trick on them either, especially if they're armed literally to the teeth," I added.

"I'll have Franky scope the place out tomorrow. Hopefully, we'll be able to plan a move against Niccolo by then," Mr. Big informed us.

"Sounds like a plan then, Mr. Big," Judy agreed. "So what do you want us to do next?"

"You and Nick should take a break. You two have done enough for today and quite honestly, with you to injured, I don't really want you to do anything more." I never expected Mr. Big to be so generous before, so I was understandably shocked by his generosity.

 _'Why does it feel like Mr. Big is using us instead of the other way around?'_ I dared not to voice my feelings out loud. _'On the other hand, though, we should be grateful he's showing leniency towards us at all. I guess I can't complain about that.'_

"Thank you so much, Mr. Big. We appreciated it," Carrots was grateful for his generosity, before we left his study room and headed upstairs, as we made our way down to our room.

"Do you ever get that feeling that we've sold ourselves out here, just so we can catch someone like Lorenzo?" Judy sighed in response, before answering back.

"I'll admit, it does feel strange to continue our investigation discreetly and at the other side of the law too. I'm worried that Chief Bogo will flip his shit out if he realizes that we're still in Zootopia."

"That's not what I meant," I corrected her. "We swore to uphold the law, but instead, we're breaking it with a lot of gun-ho bravado, just to prevent a gang war from ever happening."

"Oh my god, you're right!" Judy gasped, realized what I was talking about. "We've could easily be fired on the spot if words spread out about our actions." This woman I swear… She loves her job so much that being fired is worst than being behind bars.

"Uh sure, Carrots. We need to be careful and not draw too much attention if we want to continue our investigation," I cautioned her. Let her have her own priorities.

"Yeah, we really need to be think first before we act from now on," Judy conceded. "But to uphold the law now, however, would mean waiting until we're healed and that would take too long and be disastrous."

"For our sake, we better make short work of this," I quipped, before I grew worried. "I'll be honest, I'm scared more for you than for myself. I'm used to putting our lives on the line, so this is nothing new. Even if we make it out of this alive, however, your dream job might not survive and I don't want to see you lose that," I confessed.

"What is it that you're trying to say?" Carrots looked at me with discomfort and confusion.

"If anyone's going to take the blame, I'll make sure Chief Bogo will focus his attention towards me. I'll explain that I roped you into the investigation and you only came along to keep me from getting myself killed. That way, Bogo can let you off with at most a suspension and you'll be able to keep your job."

"But if you get fired, it would have a negative impact for those who had looked up to you, especially Swift," Judy objected. "It's because of you that she was inspired to join the police force."

"Maybe that ship had sailed when Swift learned we knew Mr. Big," I joked around, before I realized I brought her name up. "Speaking of Swift, she and Harris hadn't call us all day."

"They probably have their hands full on the investigation right now. Besides, they can take care of themselves," Carrots assured me.

"I can't argue with that, Judy," I agreed, before changing. "So, what do you want to do while we wait? We can't really go outside without risking news about us getting right back to Bogo."

"Thank goodness for the invention of cellphones. At least we can secretly exchanged information," Judy remarked, just as we finally arrived at our bedroom.

"That's my line, but not what I meant," I chuckled, before we entered our bedroom. "We'll just have to wait until Swift and Harris have time to talk to us," I looked at the clock and sure enough, it was around the afternoon.

"So, what do you have in mind?" Carrots asked me.

"How about a lunch and a movie, just between you and I?" I flirted back at Judy, followed by a sly smile.

"Oh is it going to be an actual date this time?" Carrots, in turn, flirted back and gave me a sly smile of her own.

Our minds made up, I pulled the phone from the receiver, turned on the speaker and dialed in the numbers; a few seconds later, I heard a voice from the other end of the line.

"How may I be of service today?" the voice asked with a strong, Italian accent.

"I was wondering if we could have some grilled ant sandwiches up here?" I requested.

"What kind of soups do they have?" Carrots asked aloud, as I heard her rummaging through a collection of DVDs from the cabinets. I asked the chef for her as she's on the other side of the room from me.

"We have a variety of soups to choose from, such as tomato soup, french onion soup, gazpacho…"

"What's a gazpacho?" Judy curiously asked.

"Why, it is a soup made of raw vegetables and served cold, especially during the Summer season, ma'am," the chef briefly explained to Carrots which I had to relay back. A cold soup? Sounded questionable to me but whatever.

"In that case, I want to try the gazpacho out," Judy requested and I responded to the chef.

"Excellent choice. Your food should be ready as soon as possible," once our orders were confirmed, I hung up the phone and turned around to see Judy sitting on the couch now, flipping through the channels with the remote, but found nothing worth watching on the TV.

"I take it you found a movie?" I joked.

"I wish that was the case, Nick," Carrots groaned. "There weren't any DVD or Blu-Ray players around and there were no movies," she complained. "It looks like we'll just have to settle for whatever we can find on TV to watch instead."

"As long as we find a movie that's worth entertaining, that should be good enough for us," I assured her, as Judy nodded in acceptance and continued to flip through the channels again; after flipping through a few more channels, we came across what might be the greatest classic film ever: Galaxy Battle!

"Wow, one of my favorite movies from my childhood!" Judy happily grinned the moment she laid eyes on this film, becoming giddy with excitement in the process.

"I never thought you would be into science fiction, my bunny cohort," I playfully commented. "I figure you were nothing more than an animation fan."

"Considering we've spend so much time together, I'm surprised we didn't bring something like that up," Carrots agreed. "Since this movie is two hours long, that should give us enough time to know a bit more about each other."

"I was hoping it'd be like the King of the Rings trilogy where each movie is three to four hours long."

"Nick, that's nine to twelve hours of movie. How could anyone stand that much at once?"

"That's because it's that good, Carrots," I simply replied. "Once we wrapped up this case, I promise to show you the trilogy at some point."

"I'll believe it when I see it, Nick," Judy playfully retorted.

"Oh, you'll find out sooner or later, Carrots," I amusingly countered.

We then turned our attention to Galaxy Battle and did our best to watch this classic film as much as possible; every now and then, however, we would make small talk, mainly about how well the film aged, as well as the characters and the special effects and how it still managed to be this entertaining after forty long years. Before we knew it, we heard a knock on the door.

"I got this, Nick," Judy hopped off the couch before I could even move. Clearly she wants me to stay off my leg. Judy opened the door to be greeted by the chef holding a tray with our food on it.

"Here is your meal, my friend," the goat chef happily handed the tray to me.

"Thank you so much," she thanked him, taking the tray from him.

"No problem, my friend. Enjoy your meal," the goat chef accepted my thanks, as he turned to head back to the kitchen and Carrots gently closed the door behind her. She then carried the tray back to the couch, allowing me to smell the aromas of our lunch.

"Here you go, Nick. One grilled sandwich coming right up," she handed me the bowl, a plate and some spoons, before I dug into my own sandwich.

"Thank you so much," I thanked her, before she too tasted had her first taste of gazpacho for the very first time.

"So, how is it?" I asked, taking another bite from my sandwich. After about a few seconds, Judy gave me her answer.

"I must be getting use to trying out so many good foods lately. It doesn't surprise me anymore at this point," she replied in such a more subdued but still pleased tone.

"You must be getting use to having so many surprises by hanging out with a certain fox," I joked around.

"I find sofa cushions more surprising than you, Nick," Carrots rolled her eyes at my joke.

"As in the same cushions that we had in our drunken make out session on?" I coyly teased her.

"Oh Nick, what happened the other night didn't count at all. We've only done that without thinking straight at the time and we had too much to drink too," Judy insisted.

"We're on a pretty comfy couch right now, Carrots, so if you're willing to go for round two, we can start now."

"...Whatever happened to the guy who was so confused about his own feelings yesterday?" Judy asked, feeling quite flustered.

"That guy left the building sometime last night," I slyly replied back.

"Did he happen to left with a whimper after having his tail got squeeze like a vice?" I cringed when she had to bring up last night's unpleasant moment. I could barely even moved my tail after she released her hard grip from it.

"If you bring it up again, I'll have to make you pay," I warned her in my own friendly way.

"Keep telling yourself that, Nick," Carrots smugly dismissed me, before we resumed to watching the movie, or watch it as best as we could. "You know, the way they killed that character off kinda had your tail-"

I didn't allow Judy to finish her sentence, as I softly tackled her on the couch and before I knew it, I was lying right above her; I felt tempted in getting even with her, but since she doesn't have a long tail, I choose the next best option I can come up with.

"I bet you make a lousy kisser, Carrots."

"Oh, you did not just say that, Nick," Judy glared at me for a moment; suddenly, we hugged one another, kissing each other on the face and chest. In this heat of the passion we were in total control of the situation and knew what we were doing and we loved every minute of it (plus, we had no wine to drink either, so that's a bonus). For a while, it looked like it was going to last an eternity between us...until my phone started to buzz, killing the fun, much to our displeasure.

"Really?" Judy was annoyed that my phone buzzed at the wrong time.

"It was good while it lasted," I mumbled, before we reluctantly got up from each other and I made my way to my phone and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Nick, Harris and I found something important to give to you and Judy."

 _'No way!'_ my eyes widen upon hearing Swift's claim. "What is it that you found, Swift?" I asked out loud

"We managed to get some info out of the guys we've been picking up in the last few days and they all gave the same story to us: 'The underbosses are planning to "remove" the bosses from power.'."

"Did one of the underbosses happens to go by the name Niccolo?"

"How did you...Actually, I don't want to know," Swift sounded like she didn't want to ask any further question. She also sounded kind of disappointed that she didn't have more info than us. "But yeah, Niccolo is not only among them, but he's responsible for planning out the operation, but that's all the information we got for the moment."

"Thank you for sharing me this information, Swift. It's been really helpful"

"No problem, Nick. Anything to help a friend out," Swift replied, before we both hung up and I faced Judy.

"Nick, what did Swift told you?"

"She and Harris found something about the underbosses, Carrots. Apparently, Niccolo and the others are planning to 'remove' their bosses from powers."

"We need to share this information with Mr. Big immediately!"

We rushed out of our room and made our way downstairs to the study room as fast as we had ever ran, before we both entered the study room unannounced; apparently, we were interrupting a very important discussion between Mr. Big and James.

"Oh my goodness," James gasped in surprise.

"Sorry for the intrusion, but we have something important that we need to share," I apologized to them.

"Just hear us out at least," Judy added.

"What is it that you two found out?" Mr. Big asked, as I took a deep breathe and offered him an explanation..

"A fellow officer named Swift manage to get some information out of the few gang members we've been busting the last few days. The underbosses are working together to plan and remove the bosses and take over their respective gangs, Not only that, but Niccolo Duval is responsible for the operation too."

"What does Niccolo plan to do once he accomplished this?" Mr. Big let out a big sighed, exasperated by this newfound information.

"I wish we knew what he was up to, Mr. Big," Judy apologized "What we do know is that if the underbosses removed their bosses from their gangs and replaced them, it'll bring more chaos in the streets of Zootopia."

"On the contrary, it could have the opposite effect," Mr. Big begged to differ. "It might be the only thing that can stop the current situation: remove the source of the problem before they could ever achieve their goal."

We looked at Mr. Big and then at each other, feeling uneasy what Mr. Big was suggesting to us, let alone how that idea will affect us on the long run.

"Is Mr. Big implying that we should allow the underbosses to kill their bosses?" Judy whispered to me.

"Looks to be that way, Carrots," I whispered back.

"...I don't like this idea at all," Judy discreetly expressed her disapproval. "What do you think should be the right thing to do, Nick?"

"We should be doing whatever we can to help as many people as possible."

"I can go along with that," Judy accepted my answer. "I just want to avoid any kinds of bloodshed, regardless if the people involve are criminals or not," I nodded my head in agreement, but deep down, I was actually worried about this whole situation and how it was continuing to escalate around us.

 _'I may be calm on the surface, but I am all kinds of nervous right now! This could end SO badly for everyone involved!'_ I worriedly thought. _'When mobsters remove one another for power, that generally ends pretty fucking badly for everyone. Not only that, but they would bring their war out of the streets and-'_

"Guys, is something bothering you?" James asked us, interrupting my thoughts, before Judy and I faced him.

"It's nothing at all, James!", we lied to his and Mr. Big's faces. James was about to raise his voice, but stopped himself at the last minute, wondering what to say next, before he grew silent.

 _'Guess he didn't want to get involved,'_ I concluded.

"Do you two have anything else to share with me?" Mr. Big questioned us.

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Big. That's all we got for now," I answered honestly.

"Thank you two for sharing this information with me," Mr. Big showed his appreciation.

"You're welcome, Mr. Big," we both showed our gratitudes in return, before we excused ourselves and went back upstairs to our room.

"So Nick, what are we going to do next?" Judy asked me.

"We are going to think of what we need to do, Carrots," I replied.

"What do you mean by that?"

"We need to figure out exactly what it is we need to do and how we want to go about this, Judy. As long as we know what we have got a foolproof plan, then everything should be smooth sailing for us," I explained.

"Once we got something planned out, I'm sure our plan will hitched off soon enough," Carrots felt confident.

A few hours have passed and we _still_ haven't got a clue on what kind of plan we should go with. We tried to come up with something useful, but none of them panned out the way we had hoped it would. It was like taking one turn on the road, only to run to a roadblock instead and now, just thinking of a single plan is starting to give me a headache.

"I can't believe that we couldn't come up with something good in the last few hours," I rubbed my temples in annoyance.

"Maybe we're looking at this the wrong way, Nick," Judy commented, rubbing her chin. "Let's review what we got so far: the bosses need large sums of money in an attempt to fund a war against Mr. Big, but their underbosses wants them gone and take their spot for their personal gain."

"That's how little we actually knew up to that point," I snarked.

"If only we could nab one of the underbosses, we might know more about them and where the rest of their bosses are too," Judy muttered.

"That's just what we're going to do with Niccolo. We just had to figure out how," I added.

"Nick, Niccolo will be more well guarded, compared to the bodyguards Lorenzo had with him. He's not going down that easily, unlike today," Carrots pointed this out to me. I slammed my fist on the the sofa arm hard in frustration upon realizing this.

"Fuck!" I hate this feeling of uselessness! _'Is there seriously nothing we could do?!'_

"That's why we should lure Niccolo out instead. That way, we can just capture him on the spot and take him to Mr. Big's mansion without dealing with another set of bodyguards," Judy suggested.

"He'd be even harder to catch, as he'd be on edge," I cautioned her. "The moment we showed up to catch him off guard, he might be frenzy enough to kill us both," Carrots shook her head in frustration upon hearing this.

"Maybe we should just sleep on it for now, Nick. We've been making plans for almost six hours and we have nothing to show for it.".

"You're right, we should get some rest and try again," I agreed, as I let a yawn. "I'm starting to feel a bit tired anyway."

"Do you...want to share a bed again?" Carrots shyly asked me. Dammit, she's so cute when she's shy.

"Only if you want to, but first, I need to a shower," I replied.

"Don't worry, I can wait," I nodded my head in acceptance and took a pair of shorts and t-shirt with me from the closet, before I made my way into the bathroom, removed my clothes, went into the stall and turned the faucet on, allowing the water to trickle through my furs. Now that I'm all alone, I have nothing but time to reflect on what just happened today.

 _'Everything about this case, with Judy, with everyone...what the hell is going on right now?!'_ I frustratingly thought. _'It's like an emotional roll coaster filled with unexpected twists and turns like a badly played out soap opera, only this is being playing out in real life!'_

My thoughts then suddenly shifted from the case to the most important person close to me: Judy.

 _'I've always made sly remarks about us being in love, but is this how romance suppose to feel like? What would happen when others find out? Will they accept it for what it is? Regardless, I'm sure we'll find a way to make it work,_ _'_ I then frowned and realized a problem about this. _'Then again, some might showed their disapproval of seeing a fox and rabbit as a couple together, regardless of all the good deeds we've done for Zootopia. As far as I could tell, I don't recall anyone of two different species being in a similar situation like us right now.'_

I then shook my head once more, splashing a few waters all over the stall, trying to shake off such a depressing thought.

 _'Once we close this case, I could do a bit of research on the subject. But right now, I need to focus on the case that we're in, solve it as soon as possible and hopefully, things would get back to normal...or at least, the new normal for us.'_

A few minutes would go by, but I finished showering myself, as I dried myself up as best as I could and put on some comfortable shorts and t-shirt, before heading back to the guest room, as I spotted Judy laying down on my bed.

"You sure are making yourself comfortable, Carrots," I quipped, getting into the right side of my bed and laying right besides her.

"I'm more willing to make it more comfortable now that you're here," Judy softly replied.

"As long as we have each other, that's all that matters," I assured her, as Carrots smiled back and before long, I softly grasped around and we closed our eyes and drifted off for a very good night's sleep

* * *

Man, it feels so good to get such a sleep, especially with someone close. No one to bother us, no one to tell us what to do and most of all, we have only each other for company. Nothing can ruin this moment...until someone decided to knock on the door very loudly and did just that.

"Who is it?" I grumbled, annoyed that my peaceful slumber had to end just like that, as I heard Judy yawning, having just woken up from her sleep too.

"This is Icemin," almost immediately, we got out of our bed and straightened ourselves out. We rushed to the door to open it for him.

"What's the problem, Icemin?" Carrots asked.

"We've just received a call for a meeting from Niccolo himself," we were stunned to hear this.

"...What did he say?" I cautiously asked. What came out of Icemin's mouth next left us utterly speechless.

"We ask that Mr. Big bring along Officers Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde."


	25. The Icemin Cometh

**Chapter 25: The Icemin Cometh**

"We ask that Mr. Big bring along Officers Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde," Icemin spoke, his voice even and low.

Those were the words that Nick and I just heard with our own ears. As soon as Icemin said them out loud, I stared at our polar bear friend in total shock and disbelief; immediately, I could feel my knees buckling down to the floor and my whole body trembling with fear. I never imagine something like this happening to us before and that was what made it so scary.

 _'They found us…'_ my head started to play out all the possible repercussions of us being found out here. _'We could be lose our jobs, get thrown in jail with the same criminals we put away, or we could be shot and killed at that meeting… I could lose Nick…'_ As I thought about these events, images of them happening played through my head.

"Carrots, you gotta to calm down," Nick firmly put his hand on shoulder, getting my attention and ripping me from my own horrible thoughts.. "Whatever is about to happen at the meeting, we'll get through it together. Just relax, take a deep breath and calm down."

"S-Sure, Nick. I'll try," I got up on my feet, took a deep breath and let it all out; I wasn't completely calmed, but I was calmed enough. "I'm good to go now. We should talk with Mr. Big about this."

"Now that's more like it," Nick agreed.

"Come with me. It's best if we discuss with Mr. Big," Icemin urged us.

We followed him out of the guest room and headed downstairs, before we made our way to Mr. Big's office, just in time to be greeted by Mr. Big himself, still sitting in his small chair. He seemed off somehow.

"Greetings, Judy and Nick. So glad you two drop by here." His voice seemed a little weaker than yesterday, almost like he's gotten sick or something.

"Hey, Mr. Big, but there's something we want to know: Why are we being invited to a meeting that's being set up by someone we barely knew?" Nick inquired, suspicious of the meeting.

"Is it because we caught Lorenzo and now he's trying to set up a trap or an exchange?" I added on.

"I was was thinking the same thing, Judy, until Niccolo explained what he wants the meeting for: He wants to get the bosses of all five gangs arrested all at once, to ensure the war stops before it could even begins and they can all go about making money in a more civilized way," Mr. Big explained, while I wondered about Niccolo's intentions.

 _'But is Niccolo's intention as good as it sounds? On one hand, their gangs will remain in operation, like nothing ever happened. But on the other hand, this meeting could potentially avert a gang war that could end up being quite bloody and we can put the ones who started it behind bars.'_ I rubbed my temples as my head started to hurt. Thinking about it was getting me nowhere fast. _'But no matter what happens, there's no right answer here. UGH! Why does this have to be so-'_

"Judy, are you sure you're feeling alright?" as soon as Nick asked me, I snapped back to reality and faced him immediately. "You haven't been your usual self."

"I'm fine, Nick. Really, I am," I insisted, trying to hide how worried I was. Nick just raised an eyebrow at me and I knew I was caught.

"Yeah, I'm not buying. I know you're lying since it's not like you to have a staredown with the floor," Nick called me out, crossing his arms and looked at me disapprovingly.

"Dammit," I quietly cursed at myself, before I leaned closed to him and whispered. "I'm worried how our meeting with Niccolo will turn out for all of us."

"I'm also worried what's about to happen, but we'll just have to go with the flow for the moment and see where it goes from there," Nick whispered back.

"I guess I can go along with that for now," I accepted Nick's reasons, before I heard what sounded like an argument between Icemin and Mr. Big.

"Sir, you're in no condition to attending this meeting. Let me take your place instead." Icemin pleaded with his boss, who looked less than enthused to do such a thing as miss this meeting.

"I maybe old, but I'm not helpless, Icemin!" The shrew barked back, angry that Icemin would try to make him stay back.

"I meant no disrespect, but you really should reconsider this."

"I am not going to let something minor as-"

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but is everything alright?" I loudly asked, interrupting Mr. Big and Icemin's argument, as they turned their attention towards me.

"Everything's fine, Judy. There's nothing to worry about," Mr. Big assured me.

"That's not what I saw in the contents of your breakfast when it was in the toilet," Icemin countered. "Something about it didn't seem right."

"That means nothing," Mr. Big brushed off Icemin's concern. "I'm going to attend this meeting, whether you like it or-" suddenly, he fell down onto his knees and began to violently cough.

"Icemin, what happened to Mr. Big?" Nick asked him. "He was fine yesterday."

"He doesn't look so well," Even through his fur, I could tell he was looking pale.

"Whatever it is, it can't be good," Nick concluded, before facing Mr. Big. "I think you need to go to the hospital. It might be serious."

"For once, sir, just listen to reason," Icemin urged his boss.

"I'll decide if I'm going to the hospital or not!" Mr. Big snapped back. "I'm going to the meeting and that's final! Nothing is going to stop me! Not even-"

"Daddy, that's enough!" we all turned around and saw Fru Fru being helped by another polar bear into Mr. Big's office, giving her father a stern look. "You have to take this seriously, daddy! If they say you have to go to the hospital, then go to the hospital. You can't run business if you're sick!"

"Fru Fru, I…I...I…" Mr. Big tried to counter his daughter's words, but he was unable to come up with something. After about a few seconds, he sighed in defeat. "Alright, I'll do it for you, sweetie."

"Thank you, daddy," Fru Fru felt relieved that Mr. Big was finally taking his health seriously.

"Fru Fru, has your dad always been this ill?" I expressed my concern to Fru Fru.

"No, he's always in good health, despite his age," Nick added, as Fru Fru sighed and faced us with a worried look.

"Daddy has health issues with his heart for quite some time, but ever since the five gangs were going after him, his health didn't improve. In fact, they were making it worst for him for the last few days. I don't know how much more his heart could take at this rate."

"Looks like I can't deny something this crucial anymore. I'll...check myself to the nearest hospital," Mr. Big conceded, before he faced us. "You two must accompany Icemin to the meeting, but promise me that it will work out smoothly."

"It will be done, sir," Icemin bowed his head as he spoke.

"We'll make sure of it, Mr. Big," I assured him.

"We'll try to be on our best behavior too," Nick added.

"That's all I need to hear," our answers were enough to give Mr. Big some moment of peace. "Until then, I'll leave everything to you."

"Be safe, Mr. Big," I bid him my farewell.

"Hope you get well soon," Nick also bid Mr. Big his farewell.

"Be careful out there, boss," Icemin showed his concern.

With that, Mr. Big was accompanied by a few polar bear bodyguards, as they made their way out of the mansion, while Nick and I followed Icemin after we retrieved the pistols we were given, along with two other polar bear bodyguards, into the garage, leading us to the one of the nearest available cars.

"Are you sure this meeting legit, Icemin?" Nick asked, as we got into the back seats.

"We'll be meeting on neutral ground, an area that isn't considered turf for any gang, so we should be safe," Icemin assured us, as he got into the driver's side and turned the car on, with his fellow polar bear bodyguards getting into the back seat as Nick and I shared the passenger seat, before we all drove off to the meeting.

"So…what can you tell us about the meeting?" I nervously asked Icemin.

"I don't know too much about it, but I'll tell you what we'll be meeting for. The underbosses are very displeased with their bosses' decisions of making money by taking on the biggest mobster in town. They feared that if the bosses took over Mr. Big's empire by themselves, it would prove to be too disastrous for all involved as they would no doubt fight over how to divide it up amongst themselves, so they're hoping to remove them in order to use more peaceful methods to make money," he explained.

"And what exactly do they mean by 'peaceful methods'?" I was skeptical on what the underbosses would they would considered peaceful.

"Mutual distribution and fair trade in all five territories," Icemin answered.

"What a load of bullshit," Nick rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed.

"Exactly," Icemin looked like he felt inclined to agree with Nick.

"What do you mean by that?" I questioned Nick.

"The gangs in Zootopia have never gotten along without a common goal and even if the goal was about money, they sooner stab each other in the back to make more. It's happened before and it will happen again. It's just a question of who will stab who first. Whoever makes the first move, they'll become marked for life, before the whole cycle repeats itself again," Nick explained.

"Well, settling the dispute would be the smartest thing to do now, at least, when it comes to money. Mr. Big, however, wouldn't allow that, as long as he lives," Icemin remarked.

 _'Speaking of health, what caused him to get ill all of a sudden?'_ I wondered, before I turned to Icemin to voice my concern. "Icemin, is it possible that Mr. Big got poisoned?"

The moment I asked this, Icemin nearly swerved to his left, nearly hitting a passing car, before quickly regaining his composure and glanced back at me.

"That's not possible," Icemin was shocked by such a suggestion. "Mr. Big always does a thorough examination whenever he hires someone to work for him and he made sure that they're paid well when they do their jobs correctly. There's no way anyone would be foolish enough to betray his trust...unless…"

"Unless what?" Nick asked, arching an eyebrow.

But Icemin didn't answered Nick's question; instead, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed some numbers, before waiting for a response. A few seconds, Icemin was chatting with someone from the other line. I wish I knew who he was talking to, but I did at least hear part of their conversation.

"Monitor the chef and get a list of names of all the people that were near the kitchen since breakfast was made. Make sure they to have them monitored too. Check for any evidence of poison anywhere," Icemin then put his cell phone away, before facing us. "You two need to keep your guards up. Whoever has it out for Mr. Big, isn't willing to play by the rules."

"Got it, Icemin," I replied.

"We'll keep our eyes peeled out," Nick added.

Once we assured Icemin that we understood his instruction, we continued to drive to our destination once more.

"Huh, didn't think I'd be back here," Nick spoke with a chuckle, admiring the view outside.

"What do you mean, Nick?" I arched an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Just look outside and you'll find out, Carrots."

"Alright then," I shrugged and looked outside, just as Nick wanted me to, before I noticed that we were now in the Meadowlands. Not only that, but I noticed the warehouse in full view...as well as a bridge that Nick was staring at and for some reason, it looked quite familiar to me too...wait a second...I think I knew what he was talking about!

"That's the same bridge we met up again under during the Night Howler incident!" I exclaimed.

"Very good. I guess rabbits do have a decent memory," Nick casually remarked.

"Is this where the meeting is being held?" I turned to Icemin who nodded as he pointed to the nearby warehouse.

"It'd be a great time to reminisce about good memories but we've got other things to think about."

"...Now that you mention it, Nick, the Meadowlands isn't an ideal place to be in."

"Technically, the Meadowlands is part of Zootopia, but it isn't quite busy around here, even during the day, Carrots. It's pretty much as secluded as you can get in this city."

"Of course, it's the perfect place to conduct a meeting" I concluded. "The Meadowlands is rarely visited by anyone outside of Zootopia, even from the police and any criminal can conduct business without fear of getting caught."

"Now you know how we conduct our business which means we'll need to change things up later," Icemin remarked, just before he pulled up to the warehouse to see another long car sitting nearby. "They'll be expecting us, so try to keep calm, don't draw too much attention and let me do the talking."

"Sure, Icemin," I agreed with him.

"Aw but I love to talk," Nick whined but Icemin just ignored him..

Now in agreement, we exited out of the car and accompanied by our two polar bear bodyguards, we made our way to the entrance of the warehouse, where an ocelot dressed in a red tailored suit was standing outside, with four rough looking jaguars right besides him, all menacingly staring us down.

 _'So much for a friendly greeting,'_ I thought, cautiously eyeing on the jaguar bodyguards.

"Greetings, my friends, so glad you manage to drop by. I'm Niccolo Duval, the underboss for the Flood, but you probably knew that by now," Niccolo introduced himself with a slight mocking tone in his voice, before he stopped and looked around. "Where is Mr. Big?"

"Mr. Big has fallen ill and he's unable to make it here on time. As acting boss, I will be filling in for him," Icemin informed Niccolo, his voice cold and calculated.

"Oh, I'm sorry he couldn't make it here. I sure hope he gets better," Niccolo expressed his sympathy. At least, it looked like he was.

 _'If you're sorry that Mr. Big is sick, then why do you sound like you were happy he isn't here?'_ I eyed on Niccolo for a moment, trying to make out anything unusual from him, before shaking my head. _'I'll let this slide for now. Mr. Big wouldn't want this meeting to sour up. He wanted to make sure it'll be better for everyone.'_

"Anyway, come right in and we'll have our little discussion of our deal," Niccolo and his jaguar bodyguards lead us into the warehouse, which was filled with crates of shapes and sizes, stacked on top of one another, with the occasional machineries laying around. Not only that, but there was a long square table in the center of the warehouse, with each side having five chairs sticking out. We all took our seats on the table, but I could tell that everyone in the room was anxious, like they were fully expecting something to go wrong here.

 _'Looks like I'm not the only one who's on edge right now,'_ I thought, looking around, _'I bet that they'll get jumpy as hell if they heard the shattering of a single bottle right now.'_

"Judy, you have to stay calm," Nick spoke up, noticing how tense I was acting. "Nothing bad happened yet, but if it'll help, we'll stay on guard regardless."

"Do you want me to be on guard or do you want me relax?" I sarcastically asked.

"I wish I would say both, but beggars can't be choosers," Nick jokingly replied back.

"I appreciate your sense of humor, but I'll be calm once this meeting is over," I informed him..

"For your sake, I hope so. You look like a giant ball of nerves out here," Nick remarked. "Anyway, we should just focus on the meeting right now." I nodded in agreement and we turned our attention towards Niccolo, just as the meeting was about to began.

"You and your friends are probably wondering why you have come here," Niccolo calmly informed us.

"We already know the details about the meeting, Niccolo," Icemin informed him.

"Are you sure about that? Do you know the real reason why I wanted Nick and Judy out here to begin with?" Niccolo gave Icemin a smug grin on his face.

"And are you prepared for what will happen will happen to you if that's the case?" Icemin sternly warned him.

"You should be more concerned with your own life instead of mine," Niccolo brushed off Icemin's threat.

"Are you here to make idle threats or did you have any actual business for us?" Icemin questioned him.

"What I consider business is different from Mr. Big," Niccolo calmly but arrogantly replied. "The aging mobster wouldn't understand my kind of business to begin with."

"Just skip to the speech and get straight to the point," Icemin demanded, with one hand gripping the table very hard..

"Fair enough," Niccolo cleared his throat, before offering his proposal to us. "I need Judy and Nick's help to get rid of the bosses from the five gangs. That way, me and my fellow underbosses will take full leadership of our own gangs and we will create money for ourselves in a more… mutually beneficial way. No gang war where everyone is fighting amongst themselves for profits."

"Why should we agree to get onboard with your plan already?" Nick questioned Niccolo's intention.

"Our goal is to make money and hope to make our own fortune in a less… overt way. However, such negotiations can't take place until the bosses are "removed" by hook or by crook. I have more than enough evidence in a file that could be used to indict them, should you and your partner choose to go through with my plan," Niccolo calmly explained. "They will also not have any support from us when they are arrested so their convictions would be guaranteed.

We looked at each other for a moment, before we looked back at Niccolo himself and each other again. We nodded our heads and understood that, despite his less than pleasant behavior, his plan was too good to pass over. However, there was one thing I wanted to ask Niccolo about.

"What exactly will we, as well as Mr. Big, be getting out of this 'deal'?"

"Why, you two will be in the clear as we will no longer try to take you out and Mr. Big will have peace of mind, knowing that the gang war will come to end and his poor little heart will no longer stressed him out either to the point of vomiting," Niccolo assured us...until I heard three words that stuck.

"Poor little heart?" I murmured, before I eyed intently on Niccolo once again.

 _'How does he know about Mr. Big's ailing heart and stress attack? He shouldn't have known something like that...unless if he had someone working on the inside of Mr. Big's circle. Not only that, but had to report back to Niccolo and would have to carry out some kind of order...like poisoning Mr. Big.'_

The pieces of the puzzle were all coming together and the big picture was becoming more clear now! But I still need more proof and there was one person in this room that knows more than he lets on.

"How did you know that Mr. Big wasn't in good health to begin with?" Niccolo looked surprise that I would asked him such a question.

"Why would you ask something like that, Hopps? I was told earlier that he was ill."

"The answer is quite simple, Niccolo: we've only talked about Mr. Big being ill, but we've never once mentioned the state of his heart, let alone his vomit-inducing state either," I explained.

"I merely assumed that given the nature of his age and what something like this could do to him," Niccolo defensively insisted. "Hell, I would vomit if I was stressed out that my enemies would be going after me and I would threw a fit if things aren't going my way either."

As soon as he made that recent statement, however, both Nick and Icemin were becoming suspicious of him as I was.

"That's something that Mr. Big had done in the last few days and the only ones would have been aware of that are us, his family and Icemin," Nick stated.

"What I meant to say is that I merely thought that was what was going on with Mr. Big at the time," Niccolo still insisted.

"And how could you possibly know how Mr. Big's going through?" Icemin glared at Niccolo. "Either you were in Mr. Big's mansion-"

"Or you had someone spy on Mr. Big's mansion to know what was happening with him!" I proclaimed, finishing Icemin's sentence.

"How dare you!" Niccolo yelled, no longer the calm and composed ocelot he was. "None of you don't have any proof of this accusation!"

"We may not have some now, but we'll have some in a few minutes," Icemin calmly responded. "Now, answer this question: Did you manage to pay off the head chef to do your goddamn dirty work?"

"Now you see here-" Niccolo tried to protest, but I cut him off instead.

"You had your chance to explain yourself, Niccolo, so you better cut the crap. You already made it know that you're aware of Mr. Big's heart problem, his stress and that we've never mentioned any of that to you. Not only that, but Mr. Big would never invite you in his mansion either, so you either snuck in or you bribed someone in the mansion to act like a spy for him and carry out your order. Now, which one is true?"

"ENOUGH!" Niccolo got up and pulled his gun from his holster, prompting Icemin, as well as the polar bear and jaguar bodyguards, to pull their guns out and aimed at one another in the process.

"Well, congratulations on showing your true self," I called Niccolo out.

"Shut the hell up!" Niccole angrily exclaimed. "I have everything under control, but you had to fuck everything up!"

"Stand down, Niccolo. Don't make this any tougher than it is already," Icemin tried to keep what little peace there was around here.

Suddenly, Niccolo aimed his gun at Icemin and shoot him in the shoulder, much to our shock, as Icemin clutched his shoulder from the pain.

"This meeting is officially over!" Niccolo declared, before facing his jaguar bodyguards. "Kill these motherfuckers!"

Niccolo and his jaguar bodyguards began to fire back at us, intending to fill our bodies up with lead. Despite his shoulder being injured, Icemin and his fellow polar bear bodyguards managed to fire back at the four jaguar bodyguards, hitting them in vital points like the heart, lungs, head or neck, as they slumped down to the floor, dead. Unfortunately for us, Icemin was hit squarely in the chest and was bleeding out from the floor; likewise, his fellow polar bear bodyguards were hit in their heads as their brains splattered onto the ground like chunks.

"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" I was horrified by what was just happening, as Nick grabbed my arm and took me behind a huge crate for cover. He seemed in pain as he ran with his cast on.

"Judy, get a hold of yourself!" Nick shouted, pulling out his gun from his holster and poked his head out. "We need to focus on our survival right now and make sure Niccolo doesn't try to off us first!"

"...A-Alright, Nick," I hesitantly agreed, pulling out my gun from my holster and poked my head out, before we stepped out of our cover and began looking for Niccolo. It might have been only just a few minutes, before I heard a shot right behind me;I turned around and saw Nick shooting and taking cover, as Niccolo was doing the same thing, shooting back at Nick in retaliation.

"Hang on, NIck!"

I went straight towards to him, before I heard shots coming towards my direction, no doubt coming from Niccolo himself. Whether it was a miracle or dumb luck, I managed to make my way towards Nick unharmed, barely taking cover as well.

"That was a close one," I muttered, right before I heard Niccolo's manic laughter.

"You fucking rabbit! You and your partner just threw your lives away when you came to this meeting and fucked up everything!" he taunted us, clearly angered that he didn't get what he wanted.

"You must be a fool to think that we're down and out!" Nick taunted back, before shooting back at Niccolo.

I pulled my gun out again and aimed it towards Niccolo, but I felt my hands, as well as my body, trembling. I've never had shot real bullets at anyone in my life, even if they were criminals. Sure, Nick might be willing to overlook this if it means to survive, but I couldn't bring myself to shoot another living being.

"Carrots, I could use some help!" Nick called out to me, glancing his head a bit to my direction.

"Is that the best you got?!" Niccolo taunted us again, before firing a few shots back, with one of the bullet hitting Nick's hand

"AUGH!" Nick screeched in pain, as he was forced to drop his gun down on the floor, clutching his injured hand.

"Nick, are you alright?!" I immediately rushed over to his side.

"Don't worry, Judy, the shot grazed me, that's all," Nick assured me, before reached out for his gun. However, another shot hit the floor near Nick's gun, preventing him from picking it up. Not only that, but his hand was slightly bleeding out, so he couldn't carry his gun even if he wanted to.

 _'I guess it's up to me now,'_ I took a deep breath, before I got out of my cover and aimed my gun at Niccolo. I tried not to show I wasn't afraid, by my shaky posture didn't do a good job concealing my fear, something that Niccolo noticed almost immediately.

"I see you've never shot a real bullet in your life, haven't you?" he mocked me. "Not so high and mighty now, aren't you, little rabbit?" Niccolo smirked, as he calmly came out of his cover and walked towards me and Nick. "You don't have what it takes to do it and to think you're a member of Zootopia's finest and…"

As Niccolo continued to mock me, my hands were starting to shake less and less, the fear within me started to died down and anger taking it's place as I could feel my adrenaline kicking, giving me just what I needed to end this.

"...So why don't you and your partner just do me a favor and-"

I didn't give him a chance to finish his sentence nor did I give him the time to attack us. I pulled the trigger repeatedly, shooting his chest at point-blank range multiple times. Niccolo stumbled back from the shot, in total disbelief, as his white sweatshirt was being covered by his own blood, before he stared at me.

"To die...at the hands...of a...rabbit!" Niccolo continued to stare at me, coughing up a few more bloods, before he collapsed to the floor...dead. I dropped my gun and stared at his corpse in horror.

"No…oh no, no, no, no no!" I couldn't believe what I had done!

"Judy, it's alright. It's all over now," Nick spoke up.

"You did...what you have...to do," likewise, Icemin spoke as loud as he could, despite his injuries, as we both turned to face him. He was somehow still alive. "You two...you have to...go back...to the mansion!"

"What about you, Icemin?!" I could hear Nick expressed his concern for him.

"Just leave me here," Icemin then coughed up blood over the floor. "I'm already… one foot in the grave... You two...need to inform..Mr. Big...about the meeting...and the...inevitable gang war!"

"But we don't even know where the meeting took place!" Nick argued, before Icemin pointed to Niccolo's parked car nearby.

"There's should be...evidence...in there...that could be...of some...use. I'm leaving...everything to you two...now."

"Icemin, NO!" Nick was practically pleading for him to live.

"Please tell...Mr. Big...I'm sorry...for not...living...up to his...expectations," Icemin then drew his last breath before limping away, having succumbed to his injuries. His death, the deaths of the bodyguards and even Niccolo...it was just too much for me!

"What have I done?!" I hysterically cried as I have never cried before! My actions cost everyone's lives, including Icemin's. Even worst, I killed someone for the first time in my whole life!

"There, there, Judy. It's alright," Nick looked at me sympathetically, wrapping his arms around me and hugging me as tight as he had ever hugged.

"Nick, I took someone's life! Not only that, I got Icemin killed!

"I'll admit, this must be agonizing to you right now and I can't imagine what you're going through right now," Nick then put his hands on my shoulders, as I looked up at him, vision blurry from the tears still streaming from my face. His voice was soothing and gentle as he tried to calm me down. "But we need to stay focus with the investigation. If we don't do anything, things will get _far_ worse for everyone in Zootopia! Do you understand?"

"...You're right, Nick. We need to finish what we started," despite my hesitation, I agreed on what to do next. I'll do anything to get away from this scene!

After Nick rummaged through Niccolo's pocket and pulled his key from his pocket, we went over to his car, started it and drove off from the warehouse as fast as we could and back to Mr. Big's mansion. It was nothing but silence on the way back and honestly...I needed silence after that.

* * *

 **A/N: Small update regarding my work schedule. I can't guarantee that chapters will be on Thursdays anymore as my job at Wally World is switching from a consistent schedule to one where I'm given the days that I'm needed so my schedule is going to get very random. I will still update once a week but it's based on what my days are. Just a heads up.**

 **Thank you all for the support and I hope you like the chapter :).**

 **Till next time, Sal out.**


	26. Finale Part 1: Plan of Attack

**Ch. 26: Finale Part 1: Plan of Attack**

Okay… _that_ could have gone better... However, I decided to push the incident out of my mind for now and focused on driving back to Mr. Big's mansion instead. It's not my first time seeing something like that but it's still not easy to be in a room where seven people were coldly murdering each other. And then… I looked over to Judy who looked like she was currently on another planet, gazed glued to the window. I don't even need to read her to tell how much this is affecting her. On our way back, I pulled my phone out and make a call to a certain female fox.

 _'Swift, I pray you're there right now,'_ I auto-dialed Swift's number and waited for a response back. After a few seconds, I finally heard her voice.

"Hey Nick."

"Hey Swift," I greeted her. "You and Harris needs to come by to Mr. Big's mansion right now! Judy and I have something important to give to you guys!"

"But today is my day off!" Swift complained, before I grinned in response.

"So you can go out on a date with Harris or something?" I slyly asked. Swift didn't respond back to my remark for a few seconds, as I grinned even wider in response. "Congratulations on snagging yourself a boyfriend."

"Just tell me why you call me or I'll hang up," Swift tried to sound demanding, but she sounded more fluster instead.

"Fair enough, Swift," I chuckled, before I calmed myself down and responded back. "Carrots and I found a lot of evidence in Niccolo's car. In fact, we're going to drive it back to Mr. Big's mansion right now."

"You didn't steal it, did you?" Swift asked me suspiciously.

"Me? Steal? Of course not," Swift was right, but she didn't need to know that and Niccolo wouldn't need it anymore, since he would be sleeping with the worms soon. "Anyway, we have enough evidence that will take down the five gangs in one fell swoop."

"What kind of evidence?" Swift now sounded curious.

"We got everything to pin them down, Swift. We have pictures, flash drives, documents...the whole shebang," I replied and I got nothing but silence from Swift. "Hello?"

"...That's amazing, Nick! We finally have something that they can use against them!" she was clearly ecstatic by my answer. "Say, may I speak with Judy? I want to thank her too."

I cringed when Swift brought up Carrots' name, as I nervously glanced at her; she was still sitting right next to me, doing nothing but staring outside with a thousand yard stare, clearly traumatized by her actions.

"Judy is...busy for the moment," I halfheartedly answered.

"With what?" Swift sounded confused by my response.

"She's... on the lookout. Can't have someone ramming into us again," Yeah she'll definitely buy that. I'd buy that.

"If you say so then," Swift accepted my answer. "Anyway, I'll get Harris and we'll be at Mr. Big's mansion before you know it."

"We'll see you two then," I appreciated Swift's help, before we both hung up.

I glanced at Carrots again and as much as I wanted to look at her more, I need to focus my attention on getting us back to Mr. Big's mansion. Whenever we did have a few brief stops in traffic, I would look back to see what was going on with her; not only was she in the same exact position, but I could only hear her muttering out "It's all my fault" or "I killed him".

 _'Don't worry, I'll help you out when we get back,'_ I was becoming more and more worried for Judy's well-being.

We continued to drive for a few more minutes, before finally arriving back at Mr. Big's mansion, much to my relief. As we pulled up to the mansion, though, several polar bears popped out of nowhere, all armed to the teeth and aimed their firearms at us, ready to shoot.

"Whoa there, everyone! It's just us!" I quickly exited the driver's side of the car with both paws raised up, revealing myself to them, as the polar bears stand down and lowered their firearms. I looked over my shoulder and saw Judy still in the same position she was in since we left; it was like that she wasn't even aware of what was happening around her right now.

"If you guys are gonna come back, come back in the car you left in," one of the polar bears apologized, before he approached me with a concerned look. "Where's Icemin?"

I looked away from him for a moment, unsure what to say, before I faced him and ready to answer his question. After all, he and the others deserved to know the truth.

"Shit went downhill when negotiation with Niccolo broke down. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Icemin...didn't make it out."

The polar bears gasped in shock once I told them of Icemin's fate, as they all bow their heads down mournfully, showing proper respect for Mr. Big's fallen right hand bear.

 _'Looks like you'll live on in their memories, Icemin,'_ I sadly thought. "You might want to send some people to clean up the mess, before someone finds the bodies."

"Don't worry, Nick. We'll take care of it and we'll make sure Icemin gets a proper burial when this is all over."

"That's good," I smiled a bit, before I made my way to the passenger's side, opening it for Carrots to come out. "Alright, Judy, we're here now."

Carrots, however, didn't respond to a single word I said, remaining as motionless as she had been since we left the Meadowlands. She didn't even seem fully aware of what was going on around her.

 _'Pull yourself together, Judy. I can't do this by myself,'_ I sighed and proceeded to carry her out bridal style and ready to take her back to the mansion, but not before I stopped and turned my attention to one of the polar bears.

"Swift and Harris will come by over here to collect the evidence," I motioned my head to Niccolo's car. "Can you make me a copy of the floor plans and the address in the folder."

"Thanks for giving us the heads up," one of them thanked me. "I have someone get right on it."

As soon as I said this, though, a single car drove over to Mr. Big's mansion and pulled over a few inches away behind us; before we knew it, Swift and Harris exited out of the car and made their way towards Judy and I.

"We got here as fast as we could, Nick," Swift apologized.

"And what happened to Judy? She looks traumatized," Harris noticed the horrified look coming out of Carrot's face.

I paused for a moment, before I looked back at them, as I took a deep breath, ready to tell them the whole story. I trusted them to not tell anyone and they deserved to know what happened at the Meadowlands.

"Niccolo Duval, the underboss of the Flood, invited us to a warehouse at the Meadowlands for a meeting and apparently, he wanted us to help him to take out the five bosses that were plotting against Mr. Big. Things took a shitty turn, however, when Judy accused him of trying to kill Mr. Big and soon, we were in a shootout and everyone dropped like flies, leaving me, Carrots and Niccolo left standing. He went after us, intending to kill us, before Judy shot him at close range and...killed him."

Swift and Harris were shocked upon hearing the whole story and Carrots, who remained silent up to this point, finally broke down, as I put her down on the ground and gave her some space.

"This is all my fault! I got Icemin killed because of my selfishness and I took another person's life!" Judy continued to cry in sorrow for her actions, while Swift, Harris and I stared at her with sympathy and concern.

"Judy, is there anything we-" was all Swift could say, before I cut her off.

"I think it's best if I be alone with Judy," I insisted. "Also, the evidence is being copied right now so when it's done I want you two to bring it back to ZPD as soon as possible, but call us later if something important comes up."

"Got it," Swift understood.

"We'll make sure to bring them back to the station," Harris understood as well.

They both went inside to grab the evidence before heading back to ZPD while I stayed right beside Judy, who was in the midst of her breakdown, crying over her own actions.

 _'Don't worry, Judy, I'm here for you,'_ I didn't want to see her like this anymore, so I wrapped my arms around Carrots and soon, she stopped crying and looked at me in surprise. I could feel her body trembling a bit, but I could tell that she was starting to calm down.

"Are you alright now?" I asked, as I wrapped my arms tightly around her.

"It's not much, but I appreciate the hug," Judy admitted, before looking down in shame. "I still can't believe that I killed Niccolo. Not only that, but the image of him on the ground, blood flowing out of him... I don't think I'll ever forget it..."

"No matter what you think in that situation, you did what you have to do," I assured her.

"What do you mean?" Carrots looked at me in confusion.

"Niccolo attacked us, not the other way around. It doesn't make you a murderer, Judy. It makes you a hero," I explained, as she continued to look at me. "You shot Niccolo to protect us. We probably wouldn't have made it out of there if you hadn't take the shot. Besides, Niccolo brought it upon himself when he pulled his gun and if he hadn't been stopped, he could have gone after Fru Fru, her husband and even their daughter, just for being related to Mr. Big."

"He should have served jail time for his crime instead," Carrots begged to differ.

"You're right, Judy. He should have served time, but you did what you have to do in the heat of the moment. We were in a gunfight where I lost my gun and you were about to be shot at. How was he going to be stopped?" I argued. "Plus, there was no way we could have talked Niccolo down after he was accused for attempting to murder Mr. Big. He made it clear that he had no intention of allowing any one of us to leave the warehouse alive."

For what felt like the longest time, Judy remained silent and simply stared at me. Eventually, she hugged me, tightening her arms around me. I smiled and hugged her back in return.

"Thank you for listening to me, Nick."

"You're welcome, Carrots. No matter what happens, I'll be there for you."

After I was certain that Judy was feeling much better, we both let go of our hug and I pulled my phone out, ready to call Swift. But before I got the chance, we suddenly heard Fru Fru crying loudly, as she burst out of the mansion in tears, with James right besides her, carrying their daughter. We can tell that something bad just happened and we have to find out why.

"Fru Fru, what happened?" Judy asked her with concern, as her friend wiped away a few tears, before responding back.

"It's my dear old daddy, Judy. You see, he has been...kidnapped!"

"WHAT?!" we shouted at the same time, as we couldn't believe what Fru Fru had just said to us just now.

"It's the truth," Fru Fru sadly insisted, before lowering her head. "The driver who was supposed to take daddy to the hospital ended up betraying him and handed daddy over to one of the gangs."

"Oh goodie. More bullshit," I face palmed in disbelief. Now we had to help Mr. Big on top of pull off one of the biggest raids in the history of Zootopia. No fucking pressure.

"Where's the driver now?" a serious Judy asked.

"He went with daddy's attackers and I only found out about this because only one of daddy's bodyguards came back here alive," Fru Fru solemnly answered. This had to end. People are dropping like flies and here we are unable to do anything yet.

"Thank you for sharing this information with us," Judy appreciated Fru Fru's help.

"I'll call for some extra help," I assured her and auto-dialed Swift's number, before I received a response from her a few seconds later.

"Hey again, Nick. You sure like to blow up my phone lately," Swift snarked at me. I'm so proud.

"Hey Swift, I need you to look up something on the traffic cams."

"...Why?" Swift asked after a moment of hesitation.

"Long story short, Mr. Big was betrayed and kidnapped in broad daylight," I bluntly replied, as I could hear Swift sighed exasperatedly..

"Really?! Don't we have enough shit to do?!" Swift's voice came through the speaker full of frustration.

"I know the feeling."

"Anyway, I'll have Harris look up at any camera footage and find out what happened to Mr. Big and what became of him, his driver and his attackers."

"In the meantime, we'll figure out our next move, Swift."

"You and Judy better be careful out there. It'd be kind of a problem if you two ended up biting off more than you can chew."

"Don't worry, Swift. We'll do our best to stay safe," I assured her, before we both hung up.

"I take it that Swift we'll help us out in tracking down Mr. Big," Judy guessed.

"She'll try to find out what happened to him as best as she can," I informed Carrots, before I sighed. "Unfortunately, Mr. Big will have to wait since we don't know where he is, as we can't miss this kind of opportunity. We'll have to leave it to the police once they found out where he went."

"What are we supposed to do until then, Nick?"

"We'll need to make a plan in order to take out the five bosses, Judy."

"In that case, we'll need this," Judy then pulled out a folder and handed it to me, as I opened it up and inside was two weathered out map layouts; the first had on it appeared to be a series of abandoned apartments, which seemed be behind another building and the the only thing readable on the map layout was the address itself: 9391 Shade Avenue...which happened to be located in the Nocturnal District. Stunned, I examined the other map layout of a mansion and another connecting building very intently.

"Nocturnal District?" Judy looked at me confused.

"It's an underground district where it's night 24/7. It's underneath Central where we live and is generally considered a pretty lively place but where it's lively, means that it's got it's fair share of problems. Strangely, there are no big gangs in the Nocturnal District. Mostly small fry organizations." I explained quickly to Judy, who nodded. "Looks like Niccolo and the other four underbosses were about to use this to get their own bosses arrested and take over their leadership once their plan was a success," I commented.

"Not to mention that security would be tight if anyone found out about Niccolo's death. The meeting might even be called off altogether if they found out what happened to him," Carrots pointed this fact out.

"In that case, we'll have to prepare themselves for the inevitable," I stated.

"We'll probably need some tranquilizer darts too, provided that Swift and Harris would be willing to pick them up for us," Judy suggested.

"Works for me," I agreed and pulled my phone out and autodialed Swift's number again, before hearing Swift's voice after a few seconds. And she sounded kind of mad.

"Nick, I haven't found out what happened to Mr. Big yet. Stop calling me every five minutes."

"Sorry. Actually, I didn't call you up for that. Carrots and I are in dire need of some tranq darts."

"What the hell do you and Judy need tranquilizers for?" Swift wearily asked. It's hilarious to me that this girl thought of us as heroes to be idolized and we basically have done nothing but piss on that idea for her. I can only imagine Harris himself.

"Because you and Harris will be dealing with the five bosses, while we'll rescue Mr. Big," I calmly explained.

"...You got a point, Nick," Swift eventually accepted my reasons. "It does make things easier for both of us. We'll bring some darts to you guys once the coast is clear."

"Just make sure you find out where Mr. Big is located, so we can plan his rescue and hope that he'll still be alive by then," I reminded Swift. "Considering the state he's in now, we'll need to be very careful once we find him."

"Make sure Mr. Big gets into a hospital as soon as you can," she advised me.

"We'll make sure of that, Swift. I promise."

"Thanks and I wish you guys the best of luck."

"Right, Swift. I appreciate that," we then hung up again, before Carrots and I looked at the map layout once again. We basically were committing it to memory for about fifteen minutes before we continued talking.

"They sure took their sweet time marking each room for this mansion," I noted. "They must have really wanted their plan to work."

"That's nothing compare to what I found. Take a good look at this area," Judy put her finger in the basement area, as I looked where she was pointing at, where it was labeled "Holding Room". "That can't be a good sign."

"Especially if that's where Mr. Big would be held at," I agreed and we both looked at each other for a moment, like we were thinking of the same thing, before my phone rang. I pulled it out from pocket and answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey Nick. We have enough darts for you guys to use to rescue Mr. Big. It wasn't an easy task, however, since we have to pretend everything was normal with our fellow officers, before we could get the darts out of the armory. We barely brought them into the back of my car before they could spot them. We couldn't get you the guns though."

"Thanks for helping us out, Swift and sorry about that as well. The tranquilizer guns should be at mine and Judy's apartments. I left a spare underneath a potted plant on the seventh floor next to a soda machine."

"Holy hell, Nick, you got a complex enough hiding spot?"

"You should know Judy's. It's on the roof underneath a piece of tape on the far side of the ventilation system," Swift started to chuckle. She seemed to think this was ridiculous of us to hide out keys in out of the way locations.

"What happened to just putting it under a welcome mat? Anyway, we know where Mr. Big is."

"Where?"

* * *

Having moved to Mr. Big's study once Swift and Harris arrived and gave us the tranquilizer guns and ammo, I showed them the layout of the mansion that Carrots and I managed to get from Niccolo. Realizing what we're talking about, all of us, including Fru Fru, went into Mr. Big's office, laying out the map layout of the area on the desk and studied them as intently as we could.

"There's no doubt that the meeting will be held in that place tonight as that is where Mr. Big has been taken," Harris commented.

"He will likely be held up in that room marked "Holding room"," said Swift.

"It'll probably be heavily guarded too, considering how infamous Mr. Big is. Also, charging into their base of operation is very risky too. We'll be putting Mr. Big's life in jeopardy," Harris explained.

"Don't forget about the entire police force that will be there will likely be in danger, but with the map layout, they can surround the area and the bosses won't have anywhere else to go," Judy added.

"We'll also have to make sure that all the exits are blocked up to prevent their escape as well," I stated. "We just need to save one exit for ourselves and it'll be the only way out for Mr. Big, once we made sure that he's safe and sound."

"And once we're out, Harris and Swift will "find" the entrance and have _that_ surrounded too, while we make our getaway and bring Mr. Big to the hospital," Carrots concluded.

"By the time the police comes inside in full force, they won't realize that we've done them a big favor and removed the hostage," I mused.

"It sounds risky, but if it means getting daddy out safely, then I don't mind if this plan gets pulled off," Fru Fru approved the plan, despite her reservation.

"But there's one problem: you two will need a getaway vehicle," Swift pointed out.

"As acting boss, I will be happy to provide one," all of us were surprised by Fru Fru's suggestion. "Technically, I'm second in line to inherit the family, but Icemin was to take over until I was taught enough on how to run the business before I officially took over. But after what happened in the last several hours, I'm now in charge of daddy's organization as a whole."

"I can't argue with that," I simply said.

"Plus, we need all the help we can get," Judy agreed.

"Looks like we got everything planned out then," I concluded, before looking at Swift and Harris. "All you two need to do is rally the rest of the troops to arrest the bosses."

"We're currently having someone securing arrest warrants for all five bosses with the evidence that you two provided for us, so we should have them ready by then," Swift informed us, much to our satisfaction. "Thankfully, no one asked where it came from though I can't help but feel someone should have."

"We were lucky that we manage to bring it to you guys. Hopefully, this would put an end to the gang war once and for all," I spoke up. "They might not put a total stop to it, but at the very least, this will derail them in the long run for a very long time."

"Not to mention that some of the gang members would probably go into hiding once the five bosses are arrested," Judy pointed out. "That and Bogo would be pleased with the PR, especially if the police would be able to take down such high level criminals."

"Oh sure, I can just imagine the PR stiffie he's having right now," I deadpanned and rolled my eyes with disinterest.

"The police will be there as well and according to the documents, the meeting will be at 9 PM. Of course, it could go on much longer, so the best time to strike will be during the meeting. It'll be the last thing the bosses will ever expected to happen," Harris advised us. "We'll just have to follow the directions we're given and use this tunnel that leads from apartment building to the mansion a half mile away.

"Look at you, Harris! Planning a covert op like it's nothing!" Swift thanked him and tightly hugged him for his advice, as Harris blushed back, much to our amusement.

"Harris, you sly rabbit," I slyly remarked.

"Looks like you're up to bat," Judy chuckled. "But seriously, we need to get going. It's four o'clock right now and we need to get to the tunnel entrance."

"Um, I think I should drive this time," Harris tried to say but was cut off by Swift.

"Nah, I got this!"

Setting our plan set in motion, we all got into Swift's car and drove off to the Nocturnal District, as Swift drove to our destination like a speed demon, passing by a few cars and several stop signs along the way. Hell, she drove a few red lights and we nearly got crushed by a large truck. It was a miracle that we were able to make it out in one piece! I'm honest to god surprised that no cops pulled us over. That wouldn't be something I think Swift wants to happen.

 _'Where did this girl learn to drive?! And I thought Flash could drive like crazy! Swift is a real maniac on the wheel'_ , I thought, clinging onto the seat for dear life.

Thankfully for us, though, we made our way down to what looked like a tunnel...the same tunnel that Carrots and I saw in the map layout. There was no doubt that this was the right place, as Swift drove up to to the tunnel until stopping in her tracks, just a mile away from the entrance.

"This is as far as we can drop you guys," Swift told us. "Once 9 PM rolls around, me, Harris and the rest of the police will be getting ready."

"Thanks, Swift. We appreciate it," I thanked her.

"We'll make our escape before they show up," Judy assured her.

"Just stay out of sight and stay safe out there," Swift warned us.

"And don't get caught too," Harris added.

"Thanks again for helping us" I thanked them, before Swift turned her car around and drove back to the station, while we got our tranquilizer guns out and made our way down to the tunnel. According to Niccolo's documents, the tunnel actually lead to the basement of the mansion, which was in a completely separate building a half-mile away. Not only that, but it was hardly guarded, which meant that no one would be protecting the place either.

"So this is it," I stated. "We'll be putting an end to this gang war once and for all."

"With Fru Fru organizing our getaway driver, we'll be out of here with Mr. Big in no time," Carrots felt confident.

"Let's make sure this rescue mission is a success then," we went straight into the tunnel and made our way to one of the nearest roofs of the abandoned apartments and waited for the next few hours. I pulled out my phone and saw that it was 8:30 by now, before we used our binoculars to see a few cars pulling up to the mansion; naturally, it was the bosses themselves, as well as their legions of muscle right beside them.

 _'Alright, this is now or never!'_ I thought, before I stopped myself and looked at the hard cast on my leg. _'Oh yeah, that's right. I still have this on. Maybe I should let Judy go ahead first.'_

"Nick, what's wrong?" Judy asked, snapping myself out of my thoughts, before I sighed and answered her question.

"It's my lame leg, Carrots. Since I still have it in the hard cast, I don't wanna slow you down. You go ahead and I'll catch up."

"That sounds like a bad idea, Nick," Judy objected.

"I'll be right behind you. I just won't be as fast as you," I insisted, as Judy let out a big sigh.

"Alright Nick, I understand. Just make sure to keep your guard up," Judy then scouted up ahead, while I did my best to catch up with her as fast as I could, despite the hard cast on my leg. I also took the time to look at the tunnel myself: it was only about 6 feet tall and was clearly intended for a quick getaway. Something tells me that bribery was somehow involved.

"They really need to make a quick getaway if the city allowed this tunnel to exist," I remarked, as we continued to travel into the tunnel. For how long, we didn't know for sure, but we soon heard some faint voices from a distance, so we're certain that we're getting closer to the mansion.

"At least we're on the right track," I quietly said, before Judy shushed me and took cover from the corner, before motioning me to do the same. Taking a deep breath, I made my way towards Carrots, cringing from the pain coming from my hard cast; I barely made my way to her, but it took me a bit longer than it should have. "Alright Judy, what's going on?"

"Look around," Judy pointed to the corner; as soon as I looked at her direction, I saw two guards right next to it...as well as blocking our only entrance to the mansion, much to my dismay.

"We can make this work."


	27. Finale Part 2: Operation: Big Rescue

**Chapter 27: Finale Part 2: Operation: Big Rescue**

Okay so this we should've seen coming from the next town over; just as we were about to make our way inside, there were two guards standing near our only way in and out of the mansion. Thank goodness we noticed them at the last moment or the whole operation would have been a bust. We eyed our preys from the safety of the corner about fifty feet away and the guards were too busy talking with each other to actually notice us.

"So they only have two guards out here, huh?" Nick gave his usual smirk. "This'll be a piece of cake."

"Nick, what are you-" was all I could manage to say, before he spoke up.

"Just trust me on this one, Judy," Nick looked at my gun, before motioning his head to the two guards; I understood what he wanted me to do, so I lined up my shot at one guard, with Nick doing the same thing with the other guard. We had fingers down on the triggers, ready to strike at any given moment?

"Ready, Carrots?" Nick quietly asked me

"Ready as I'll ever be," I quietly replied.

Within seconds, we shoot our darts at the two guards, hitting them squarely on their chests, as they gasped in surprise by our ambush. Before they knew it, their eyes rolled back and collapsed down onto the ground, as they doze off their next stop to la la land.

"That takes care of them," Nick quipped

"We have to be careful though since we only have so many shots. Let's make sure they don't get in our way," we both approached the two unconscious guards and dragged them out of the way beyond the corner. The tranq darts were made for 1 hour so that was the time limit before they woke up and all hell breaks loose with us inside and nowhere to go. Once we made sure they weren't going anywhere and no one would accidentally run into them, we made our way inside, closing the door behind us, as we looked at our surroundings and saw that we were in a cellar full of wine. Expensive as hell wine too. I looked at one of the dates and it was from 60 years ago. Well aged indeed.

"You know Judy, we could take a bottle with us back home, since we won't need it for about an hour," Nick suggested, causing me to nudge him on the side in response.

"We're here to rescue Mr. Big, not make dinner plans," I quietly scolded him.

"Judy, Judy, Judy, you should lighten up just once in awhile. It'll help calm your nerves down," Nick chuckled back.

"Yeah, cause I can totally be calm when we're trespassing in a house literally filled to the brim with thieves, murderers, and kidnappers," I rolled my eyes, unimpressed. "Anyway, we're getting close, but with five bosses and a lot of guards in the same mansion, this won't be a simple task for us."

"At this point, nothing has ever been simple for us, but let's make sure the coast is clear, just in case," Nick remarked. As Nick checked the map of the building. He showed me that that the holding room was just down the hallway in the basement that they were in. All the other rooms looked to be living quarters for the help but with everything going on, it's doubtful that any are down here.

We got our tranquilizer guns out, ready for an inevitable face-off, as Nick cautiously opened the door, before we made our way inside the hallway, ready to face down any guards standing in our way. Instead of being greeted by a barrage of thugs, however, we were greeted by nothing more than a quite empty hallway. I looked rather nervously, as I didn't like how eerily silence the hallway was.

"N-Nick, there's not a single guard around here," I worriedly pointed this out. "Y-You would think they would at least be smart enough to have somebody guard Mr. Big."

"Yeah something is definitely wrong here, Carrots. There's no way any of them would leave Mr. Big all by himself in the holding cell. We should check the holding room to see if he's there," Nick agreed, looking on rather seriously

We resumed sneaking into the holding cell, regardless if there were any guards or not, before I put my ear up to the door. I couldn't hear anything from the other side; in fact, there was nothing _but_ silence, just like the empty hallway we were in.

 _'This isn't right. The holding cell shouldn't be_ this _quiet,'_ I looked at Nick and motioned my head to the door in front of us. Nick nodded, understanding what I wanted him to do, as I backed away to give him space and allowing him to slam the door with his shoulder, forcing it to open, before we head inside. But as soon as we entered the holding cell, there was no sight of Mr. Big anyway; in fact, the room was completely empty!

"Oh my gosh, he's not in here!" I panicked. "Where the hell did they take Mr. Big?!"

"Calm down, Judy. Let's not go into freak out mode just yet," Nick pressed his hands on my shoulders, calming me down a bit from my little freak out moment. "Mr. Big could have been simply relocated elsewhere in the mansion, that's all."

"That's the problem, Nick! Mr. Big could be _anywhere_ in the mansion! We don't even have enough time to check every single room!" I argued, my voice having problems staying at a whisper.

"Or maybe we don't have to search every room, Carrots. All we have to do is get one of the guards alone and figure out where he'd gone too, that's all," Nick calmly explained.

"And where are we going to find one on such short notice, Nick?" I sarcastically asked, before I received my answer.

"Hey, who's over there?!"

We heard what sounded like a low but gruff voice outside of the holding cell. We remained silent for a moment, before we spotted the darkest corner in the room and hid within the darkness.

"You were saying?" Nick asked with a smirk.

"Oh, shut up, Nick," I quietly retorted, just as we saw a rough looking coyote guard making his way inside, no doubt having heard our conversation.

"Show yourselves right now, or I'll make you!" the coyote guard demanded, pulling out his gun to show he meant business.

"Alright then, but you asked for it, bub."

"Wha-"

I rushed out of the corner, slugging the coyote guard in the face with my hard cast arm, leaving him in a daze, before Nick grabbed his arms and pinned him down on the ground face first.

"YEOW!" he yelped in pain, as Nick continued to press his face on the ground.

"Squeal and your face is the last thing to worry about," Nick glared down at the coyote guard. "Now, we'll ask you one question and you'll answer them honestly.

"Like hell I will!" he barked at us, before I slugged his shoulder with the same cast.

"There'll be more if you don't cooperate with us," I warned him. "Now, where's Mr. Big?"

"How the fuck should I know?" I sighed and slugged him again his other shoulder. "Alright lady, I'll talk! just stop hitting me like that!"

"You better," I reminded him once again, showing my hard cast arm in front of his face. "The next place will be your balls if I don't like your answer,"

"Might as well do what she said," Nick informed him, as he took a deep breath and grudgingly answered my question.

"We took him to the conference room with the bosses, but that's all I know, I swear!"

Nick and I stared at the coyote guard for a moment, before we stared at each other very uneasily; getting Mr. Big out of the conference room was now becoming a tremendous task that we couldn't pull off on our own. What we need was a distraction for them and I just know two certain cops to help us out with that.

"Thank you for your cooperation," Nick said to the coyote, "Now it's time for a nap,"

"But I'm not sleepy-" The coyote didn't seem to catch Nick's drift before I pointing my gun at him and fired a dart between his eyes.

"You are now," I replied with a smirk as the coyote dropped like a bad habit, "Nick, we need Swift to launch the assault with us still inside here now, make sure that she gets to the tunnels before the bosses do and we get the hell out of here before she and Harris closes off our only escape route," I explained.

"Sounds like a bold move, Carrots, but at this point, it just comes with the territory of working with you, doesn't it?," he asked with a smirk.

"Don't worry, Nick. She and Harris will make sure that they'll keep the cops busy and give us enough time to sneak out of here unnoticed. Either they get us out of the conference room or we get Mr. Big out first and we have to pull this plan off in a very big way," I finished my explanation, before turning my attention to the coyote guard. "We might want to move him."

As Nick moved the coyote into the dark corner we were hiding in, I pulled the map out of my pocket and we looked at it once again. After about a minute or so of searching the map, we finally spotted where the conference room was located: the top floor.

"There it is," I pointed to where the conference room was located.

"At least we know where the conference room is, Carrots," Nick simply said.

"Getting inside of the conference room is another story itself," I quipped, before Nick picked up the map and looked at it, showing me its underside. It was a diagram of the ventilation system and how it connects to certain parts of the building. "Say, do you think there are some possible shortcuts we can use to sneak into the conference room?"

"Why?" he asked, arching an eyebrow at me, before I pulled the map down and showed Nick the underside.

"Look at the underside, Nick. I noticed that it showed a detailed plot of the mansion's entire ventilation system to show how the air flows through the building. If we use this, we could make our way to the conference room unnoticed," I explained, showing the layouts of the vents to him.

"Looks like we'll be sneaking in the old fashioned way then," Nick looked rather pleased upon hearing my explanation.

"Then let's go save Mr. Big," I declared, before we left the holding cell and locked the door behind us, leaving our coyote friend inside.

We made our way down to one of the employee rooms across the hallway and fortunately for us, it was empty, just like the hallway we were in. I thought the living conditions I had were shit but these guys somehow, actually have it worse. Dank, dark, no windows, with only beds inside for furniture and no overhead light. You'd think this was a torture dungeon at one point. We looked around the room for a moment, before we spotted a nearby vent sticking out on the wall.

"I got this, Carrots," Nick leaned down and began to unscrew the the bolts on the vent with his claws very carefully, removing one bolt after another, until he reached the last one. "Just gotta get rid of this one," he muttered, eventually removing the last bolt from the vent.

"Good job, Nick," I praised him. "I'm surprised you didn't break a nail during that."

"What can I say? I'm built to last in all regards," Nick happily remarked. "Anyway, ladies first, Carrots."

Nick stepped aside and allowed me to crawl into the vent first, as I managed to easily squeeze my way inside. I then heard Nick struggling to fit himself inside the vent, taking at least a few minutes, before I heard Nick crawling behind me, having managed to get his whole body inside the vent.

"How are you feeling back there?" I asked.

"Peachy," Nick sarcastically responded, sounded like he was a bit cramped up inside the vents. "I don't think these vents were built with a fox crawling through it in mind."

"At least you got inside, Nick," I chuckled, before I grew serious. "Now let's go and find out where Mr. Big is being held at."

We quietly crawled our way inside the vent and made sure we didn't made a single noise along the way, as we scaled around the building for the conference room, making a few twists and turns to locate the room. It felt like forever searching for our destination, but finally, we heard some faint voices just a ways up the vent. I couldn't say anything to Nick or risk our voices echoing so I simply pressed onward towards the voices. We slowly crawled our way to the nearest vent, but not too close to let one of the bosses hear us, as we peeked through the vent and remained quiet, just as we were listening in on what was an ongoing conversation.

"So Mr. Big, feeling comfortable right about now?" one voice mockingly asked him, followed by the sound of something...or someone getting punched.

"He sure doesn't look comfortable to me," another voice added in.

We waited for a response from Mr. Big, but we heard nothing, as he remained motionless, much to our concerns.

 _'Please don't be dead, Mr. Big!'_ I feared the worst, as I looked down in the conference room, checking the area for him, before I got visual of him and I gasped at what I was looking at: Mr. Big was tied up to chair suitable for his size, swelling all over from a lot of beatings no doubt, before I saw him coughing up a little blood. _'Th_ ank _goodness you're still alive,'_

I sighed with relief, before I looked back down and saw five animals in the conference room: one was a light blue suit wearing mongoose with an "S" symbol on his tie, the other was a dark green suit wearing jaguar with a waterfall symbol on his tie, a red suit wearing raccoon with a dollar sign on his tie, a grey suit wearing jackal with a swirl symbol on his tie and finally, a yellow suit wearing horse with a gravestone symbol on his tie. I then realized that they were the leaders of the Salamanders, Flood, Bandits, Sandmen and Deadman's Hands. Our targets were all present and accounted for.

 _'That must be Danny, Tyrone and Victor down there, but I don't recognize the horse and the jackal,'_ I then noticed something else about the room: The five bosses were all alone. No bodyguards, no underbosses...just five guys in a room sitting around a table with Mr. Big tied to a chair. "Nick, are you seeing what I am seeing?"

"Unfortunately, I have, Carrots and I saw what they've done to Mr. Big," Nick answered with disgust. "I'm starting to see why Mr. Big has zero respect for these assholes: they don't anything about honor at all. For fuck's sake, they just beaten up an old man tied to a chair,"

Nick was very lucky that the five bosses didn't hear his insult, as they were laughing their heads off from the pain they were inflicting at Mr. Big to even notice us. The last thing we want is getting their attention at all.

"Nick, you have to text Swift to move in now. Don't worry, I got my darts ready to take these bastards down," I instructed him.

"Judy, that's insane! You can't just shoot down five-" I suddenly glared at him, shutting him up. "Alright, I'll do it your way," he pulled out his phone and began write down the message for Swift before showing it to me to see if it was substantial. We needed to make sure they knew where to go.

'Swift, Mr. Big is in the conference room on the top floor with the five bosses, as well as informing you to move in ASAP,' Nick then send the message to her and a few seconds later, his phone vibrated, prompting him to cup his hands over it, preventing the boss from hearing the noise, as I read the message Swift send to us.

'Thanks for the heads up, Nick. Make sure you and Judy get Mr. Big to safety before we move in. You have 5 minutes before we start the party.'

 _'Good, they're all set,'_ I lined up my gun, ready to fire back, only to realize what I was about to do.

"What's wrong, Carrots?" Nick asked, noticing my hesitation. I lowered my gun down, before facing him.

"Nick...the moment I start shooting, I won't have enough time to get all of them before hell breaks loose. Not only that, but I'll be putting Mr. Big's life at risk. I think it's best if we strike the moment we hear the sirens outside."

"I can go with that," Nick agreed with my idea, as we looked down from the vents and saw Victor approaching Mr. Big.

"You should have retired, you old fogey and took your outdated 'ideals' with you too. You don't belong here anymore!" he mocked Mr. Big. "The world runs on money and if we want to be successful, we need as much as possible. As long as you keep getting in our way, our profit margin is substantially smaller!"

"Is money all of you care about?" Mr. Big asked, before he turned his attention to the four bosses and menacingly glared them down. "You punks don't know the meaning of hard work. You all think hard work is a chore that you can throw away like trash, but that's not what hard work is all about. It's about being provided with a responsibility and a promise to keep, making sure that everything provided is taken care of, something that took me years to get where I am at now. By kidnapping me at my weakest, you chumps have proven yourselves to be greedy minded fools who always seek an easy way for success!"

I have never heard such a vicious and scathing speech in my entire life, as we witnessed that the four bosses seething with anger with each passing second. They have never felt so insulted and disrespected like that in their whole lives. Mr. Big's speech practically pierced them like a barrage of arrows.

"How dare you insult us like that, especially me, Ezekiel Royale, leader of Sandman, a pioneer in the underground but now a hole filled with rats in a dirt hole!" the jackal boss then pulled out a knife from his pocket and walked towards Mr. Big, brandishing it in his face. "I'll chop off that little head of yours off real good, you old bastard!"

"You show him, Ezekiel," the horse boss agreed.

"Shut the hell up, Eddie Hoarse! I didn't ask for your approval!" Ezekiel dismissed him.

"Hey, I'm just showing support!" Hoarse insisted.

"What I want is for you to be-"

Before their conversation could go on any further, we all heard the police sirens blurring heavily outside, getting everyone's attention towards the door.

"What the hell?!" Danny shouted in surprise, as we gave ourselves the chance to rescue Mr. Big right away.

"Let's do this, Nick," we both lined our shots at the bosses, intending to discreetly take them out one by one. We were doing good, going from left to right, taking out the first three bosses before they could react. However, before we could get the other two…

"Guards, get us the hell out of here!" Hoarse commanded, as we could see the locked door being fiddled around from the other side.

"Just once, I wish things were done our way," Nick muttered in annoyance.

"Looks like we'll have to improvise then," I then shoot Hoarse with a dart, putting him to sleep, shocking his fellow bosses. "Besides, fuck subtlety."

"Someone took everyone out!" Tyrone stated the obvious, before eating a dart in his butt by Nick.

We kicked the grate open with all of our might, grabbing Mr. Big and we hightailed back to the vents, just as the guards came in, prompting Nick having to shoot them down on the way out, before all three of us crawled our way back to the first floor.

"Nick, Judy, are you insane?"

"Oh stupidly so. How you doing Mr. Big?" Nick stated as we quickly crawled our way down to the basement.

"I thank you for saving me but could you have done it in a less bombastic way? Sneaking in through the vents, using the police force as a large scale diversion as well as using it for an attempt to arrest the other bosses? All I have to say is… What took you two so long?"

"Took longer than we had hope," Nick dryly replied. "We didn't think they would move you up in the conference room, of all places."

"I'm just glad you're safe and sound now, Mr. Big and you're welcome," I accepted his gratitude, before facing Nick. "Once we get into the tunnel, call Swift and Harris to get into position."

"Got it," Nick understood, just as we finally made our way out of the vents, as he pulled his phone out to make the call. "Swift, you and Harris need to head to the tunnel immediately!"

"Do you want us to get into position now?" I could hear Swift's voice from Nick's phone.

"Just give us fifteen minutes for us to get to the other side. Also, we'll be having company too and they aren't happy with us," Nick answered, before he hung up and we continued heading down to the tunnel's entrance. Unfortunately, the guards chasing us down have the same idea as well, having spotted us inside the wine cellar.

"Take cover!" I declared and the three of us hid behind the cellars, with Nick and I shooting our darts back at them, hitting a few of them along the way, before we quickly went to the tunnel entrance with Nick locking it and we all ran with all of our might.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" Nick repeatedly yelped from the pain, hitting his hard cast leg on the pavement.

"Nick, not so loud!" I scolded him, as we exited out of the wine cellar.

"I can't help it, Carrots, especially since we have an army of guys after us and I've got a cracked leg!"

"Still, be careful with your leg. You're going to make it worst if you keep it up."

"I'll try, but I can't guarantee anything else than that."

Just then, we heard shooting from behind us and a barrage of footsteps. We took cover at the last seconds and looked behind us to see that the remaining guards were now trying to catch up with us. We only had about a 30 second head start and Nick was losing ground fast.

"Great, just what we needed," I muttered, before I checked my ammo. "Shit, I have no darts on me!"

"That's just fucking great!" Nick sighed, hobbling around to his left and shoot a few guards by pure luck, before hobbling back to safety. "hobbling and shooting at the same time doesn't go together like bread and butter."

"In that case, I have one solution for something crazy like this: run like hell and don't look back," I suggested.

"Best plan I've ever heard," Nick agreed.

We then made a mad dash for our lives, with bullets flying pass us and guards taunting behind us, as we continued to make our way to the other side of the tunnel. However, we could hear the guards' footsteps getting much closer than ever, but no matter how hard we tried to outrun them, we were unable shake them off. We could hear them being just a few feet away from us; suddenly, we heard a series of shots out of nowhere and suddenly, the guards dropped like flies all at once. We looked at the direction of the shooting and to our relief, it was Swift and Harris.

"Your cavalry has just arrived," Swift boasted.

"And just in time too," Harris added, before he looked at us with concerns. "You guys alright?"

"We are now, thanks to you two," Nick answered. "Thanks for saving our asses back there."

"We owe you big time," I thanked them.

"I am forever in your debts," even Mr. Big thanked our new friends.

"No worries, everyone. It's just what we do," Swift assured us with a smile.

"Now just drive like hell to the hospital and don't stop for anything. The rest of the department is going to be swarming here," Harris instructed us, as he and Swift pointed their guns down at the tunnels.

Nick, Mr. Big and I nodded our heads, before we ran out of the tunnel, making our way back to the street, before we see a car pull up, getting a glimpse of a polar bear on the driver's side, as the side door opened up, with Fru Fru revealing herself to us.

"Fru Fru, what are you doing here?!" Mr. Big was shocked to see his daughter out in the open like that.

"I'm your daughter! It's my job to help save you! Just get in here already, you guys!"

Fru Fru then jumped into Nick's paw as the four of us jumped into the passenger seat that could fit all of us easily, before our getaway driver drove off like a madman, driving us out of sight from the Nocturnal District and onto the busy traffic.

"Nick...Judy...I appreciate what you have done for me," Mr. Big thanked us once more, before looking down sadly. "You two shouldn't be risking your lives like that. You both have your own lives to think about."

"Don't worry, Mr. Big. As cops, we're suppose to take any risks that comes across us, no matter what the odds are," I assured him.

"Not to mention provide the safety of the people in Zootopia, regardless of background," Nick added.

Mr. Big looked at us for a moment, before he smiled back. It was the first time we've ever seen him smile at all.

"It's rare to see you smile, Mr. Big, but I'm glad you appreciate what we have to say."

"I'm just glad to be alive, Nicky."

* * *

Thanks to our polar bear getaway driver, we were able to arrive at the nearest hospital under a few minutes, as Fru Fru took Mr. Big into the emergency room, making sure his health hadn't further declined during his capture. We figured it was best to leave them alone, as we waited in the waiting room, with Nick on the phone chatting with Swift who was in the middle of filing all the paperwork for what was the largest amount of arrests at one time in Zootopia history, while I was watching the news. Apparently, the raid turned out to be a success, with the house falling with little resistance as a good chunk of the gang members were either knocked out by darts already or knew they were screwed as cops poured in from every conceivable angle. But now the police were now wondering: Who was there first?

 _'If only they knew,'_ I thought, as I saw Swift and Harris bringing in the remaining criminals in the cruiser, only to be swarmed by by a large group of reporters.

"Officer Swift, tell us how you manage to pull this raid off!"

"Officer Harris, what was it like inside?"

"How did you know they were about to escape?"

"We are not at liberty to talk about the case just yet. You'll just have to wait until further notice," Harris informed them, acting unnaturally calm.

"No comment," Swift replied with a smile, before she and Harris walked away from the reporters, ignoring the their demands to answer their questions.

"Looks like we taught them well, Nick" I joked.

"We sure have, Carrots. We sure have," he agreed. "I'll have to call Bogo in later to see if we can come back after we've healed or if we'll be forced to stay on vacation a little longer."

"I wouldn't mind making our vacation a bit longer," I gave Nick a sly smile.

"I think I deserve an actual vacation since we're still hurting," to prove his point, Nick tapped on his hard cast leg, wincing with each tap he made. "With all the running I've done, I'm lucky to even walk."

"You're even luckier you have the cast put on or you would be on one leg right now," I jokingly added.

"Imagine the headlines now: One Leg Nick, Crime's Worst Nightmare!" Nick joked back.

We both laughed our heads off from such a dorky one liner, until a doe nurse nearby glared at us, prompting us to calm ourselves down. I then looked at the news and smiled, knowing that the case was now over...only to be saddened that it came at the cost of a certain ocelot's life.

"Judy, why the long face?" Nick noticed my change of demeanor almost immediately. I let out a deep sigh, before I answered back.

"Of all the cases that we were involved, this is the first one that I got someone killed. Even now, I can still see Niccolo looking at me the moment I shot him, covered in his own blood. I...I don't know how to live with that decision," I covered my face in shame, almost shedding a few tears just thinking about what I did.

"It's okay, Carrots, I get it, but you need to hold it together until we're alone," I could feel Nick's arm drape around my neck, as I faced him. "There will be plenty of time to cry later. For now, we just have to keep appearances."

"...Thank you for being by my side, Nick. I really appreciate what you've done for me," I then gave him the biggest hug I have ever given him in my whole life.

I then noticed everyone in the waiting room staring at us. I've decided to pay no mind to it; of course, I was going to have to deal with their stares eventually, but I'm not going to let their disapproval from ruining the moment for us, as I rest my head onto Nick's chest.

 _'It doesn't matter anymore. I've earned this time with Nick and I'm going to have it.'_

 **A/N: A day later than normal because family matters but it should be fine, right?**

 **Next week will be the final chapter or "Aftershocks" as I'm calling it. If you have anything that you think needs to be elaborated on in it, please let me know and I'll do my best to show you what happened in that regard.**

 **Till next time, Sal out!**


	28. Aftershocks

**Aftershocks**

It had been one long month since we closed another crazy case in Zootopia, with all the five bosses from their respective gangs in cuffs and thrown away in their own cozy little cells, never to see daylight ever again. A lot had happened since then and things were changing around us, for better or for worst.

Let's see… where to start… probably best to start with what happened right after. Judy and I basically left town about as soon as we could for Bunnyburrow as we were honestly afraid that Bogo might check to see if we were even there. Turns out he did check before we got there but Carrots' folks managed to lie for us which turned out to be pretty simple since he only made Clawhauser call because he's "a very busy buffalo".

As a result of the five bosses getting arrested in the raid, the four remaining underbosses began to make their move, replacing their bosses as the new leaders of their respective gangs. For their sake, they better lay low like the roaches they truly are, but if they really do plan on making their next move, then we'll be ready for them when the time comes.

The Flood, on the other hand, were pretty much scrambling to fix the mess they were unceremoniously handed; losing their underboss _and_ boss in the same day had really wrecked the chain of command. Their lieutenants were now fighting amongst themselves, trying to see who was best suited for the positions of leading the Flood. Of course, the bastards failed to realize that their infighting would draw more attention to them than they could ever imagined; the ZPD quickly found their base of operation not long afterwards and pretty much cuffed them all on the spot. It's easy to arrest people when they're trying to kill each other as it turns out. We were pretty lucky back there or Zootopia would have a bloody civil war on their hands. I have no doubt that the Floods will most likely die from their inflated egos and idiocy, not that they were smart to begin with anyway.

As for the bosses themselves...their own gangs practically turned their backs on them, leaving them high and dry without a second thought, as the case was moving towards the courts at a pretty fast pace and the lawyers that normally would back them up were nowhere to be found as they were under new management. I don't know what will happen to them next, but one things is for certain: they'll be spending time in prison for a very long time, collecting dust as a group of long forgotten problems.

With the bosses dealt with, there was another matter that we had to contend with: our ties with Mr. Big and the criminal underworld itself. Staying connected to Mr. Big would have been a career suicide for us, figuratively and if we think about why things happened the way they did, would have been literal suicide. If anyone, especially Bogo, were to find out what really happened behind the scenes, then the case that me, Carrots, Swift and Harris had worked so hard on will be all for nothing. I can still recall our last conversation we had with Mr. Big a month ago...

* * *

"We don't want to sound ungrateful to you, Mr. Big, but we can't stay in contact with you forever. Don't get us wrong, we really appreciate the help you give us, but we're worried that if someone were to put two and two together about this case, it would put us in hot water big time," Judy explained.

"What is it that you're trying to say, Judy?" Mr. Big questioned her.

"What Judy means is that it would be best if we would be cutting ties from you...forever," I replied with a slightly heavy heart (but secretly, I felt good to get away from someone who doesn't like me one bit).

"I hope you understand, Mr. Big and I'm sorry it had to be this way," Judy looked down on the ground with shame.

We waited for what might have been a few minutes, but it felt like eons, as Mr. Big stared up at us, like he had never felt so offended in his whole life, especially after all he had done for us. After a long and tense silence in his office, he finally gave us his answer, which would decide what our fates would be.

"I figured that this would happen eventually. It might be for the best. After all, you two have helped me out when I needed it the most, so I'll return the favor and remove any possible links between us. I'll make sure that no evidence ever surfaces about what you two have done."

"Thank goodness," I felt a wave of relief hitting me...figuratively speaking, of course. While it might be another criminal act, let it be the last one so that we can do our job the right way from now on.

* * *

True to his word, he did just what he said he would do a week later.

"There, all done now. You two are now free from any links to me and the criminal underworld."

I don't know how Mr. Big did it, but somehow, he managed to pull off the impossible. Somehow, he managed to get inside all of the gang's' base of operation and removed any evidence that could have been used against us, thankfully before the raid on the Flood who happened to have the most of it. Because of that, no one could ever blackmail us and we can return back to our lives once again. Though the relief was tainted by how we got it, I'm just glad we can start over again.

"That's great news," I said, pleased with Mr. Big's assistance.

"We really appreciate the help, Mr. Big. We really mean it," Judy thanked him, before she switched into serious mode. "But in the event that we'll have to come after you in the future, we will with everything we got and we won't hold back."

"I understand your reasons, Judy. I really do," Mr. Big answered back, bowing his head down to her respectfully. "This will be our last conversation then. Farewell, you two."

And just like that, we were allowed to peacefully leave Mr. Big's mansion, as the polar bears stood in the positions, while we turned around and headed towards the entrance. We know fully well that the next encounter we have with Mr. Big, we'll be just enemies from the other side of the law. It's for the best though.

Before we left, though, we glanced back at Fru Fru; while she understood why it had to be this way, she was nevertheless upset by the whole ordeal.

"Goodbye, you guys," she waved one last farewell towards us, holding back a few tears, before we waved our farewells to her and left Mr. Big's mansion for good.

We haven't talked to her since we left Mr. Big's mansion, but I do hope that whatever Fru Fru was doing now, she, James and their daughter Judy are having a wonderful life together.

* * *

With our business with Mr. Big taken care of and our ties to the criminal underworld officially severed, we resumed back to our mundane lives at your typical law abiding police officers of Zootopia, going back to stopping the usual would-be criminals around the city, just like old times. Swift and Harris, no longer the fans of ours like when they started as that ship had sailed and been used for a freaking viking funeral as they got to know us for who we actually were but after we cut ties with Mr. Big, any tense relationships seemed to repair themselves and now the four of us are pretty much a squad. Carrots has been doing better since the case closed last month, but she seems...unhealthily focused on work ever since we got back to ZPD. Everyone in the precinct is so concerned for her wellbeing; hell, even Bogo, of all people, is worried how Judy was behaving lately.

"Hey Judy, are you alright?" I asked her, as she passed by my desk.

"Yeah, I'm good, Nick. Nothing to worry about," she bluntly replied, just like she had done so for the last month. She didn't even look at me when she said that.

"But is there anything that I-" it was all I could say to Carrots, before she quickly headed back to her desk, not even bothering to hear what else I might have to say. I know what was really bothering her since last month, but she still insisted otherwise if that topic was even brought up to her.

 _'She's trying so hard to drown out her guilt through her work.'_ I worriedly thought. I happened to notice on the first day that Judy no longer carries her pistol. Only a taser and her tranquilizer. We need to get her help, but we can't do anything about it considering why she's so upset. There aren't a whole lot of shrinks we could take sensitive information like vigilante activity and murder in self-defense to.

Swift, Harris and I are the only ones that Judy could ever talk to about what happened and even then, she would avoid the topic regarding Niccolo. I know for certain that she had to talk about her guilt to one of us sooner or later. By being honest to us about it and coming clean of what had been bothering her lately, she can finally work to getting rid of the guilt that she had been carrying on her shoulders for well over a month now.

But how do I get her to talk? She's not exactly one for conversation anymore. I hesitated on approaching her, but I knew Judy the most out of everyone, or least, I used to.

Carrots seems so detached from life that it looked like she was having a hard time actually living it; she might be putting the face of a hard working officer, but deep down, she was troubled by her actions, but was too stubborn to admit it to anyone, even me. Maybe if I could pry her away from work for a week and just enjoy ourselves together, she would open up and I could finally help her out.

Lord knows that all the ice she's been giving me is straining our already fragile relationship. We may be dating... unsteadily now, but it was still a work in progress and no one but Swift and Harris are aware of it. However, we haven't done anything worthwhile lately and our relationship was now in tumultuous water; Judy's so out of it, it's hard for us to take our relationship anywhere.

I pondered having Swift and Harris helping but outside of what they were already trying to do, they were having as much success as I was. Judy just didn't want to think about what she did and is trying so hard to bury it through work that she's going to hurt herself.

I rubbed my chin, pondering for what seemed like an eternity, trying to figure out my next move would be. This would not be easy but life is never easy. You have to make it work for you, not the other way around. I managed to get Judy to write her parts for this story as maybe a way of coping with it. Admitting it in some form but I can't tell if that helped or not.

Judy hasn't seen this part of the story. This is the last account of what happened from the eyes of two animals who lived it. I'm probably going to bury this somewhere where no one will find it till we're both long dead. I don't know what's going to happen next but I can tell one thing:

I'm going to try my damnedest to make this work.

* * *

 **A** / **N: Well that's it then. We've reached the end in a sort of... unending way. I'm leaving this open to debate on whether I should do a sequel on the grounds that story has pretty much died down when I look at interest in it. It might get pretty damn good view numbers (700 in one day is amazing for me) but only like 2-3 people are actually saying anything so it feels like there's no real interest. At least from my perspective on someone who places interaction as a high priority.**

 **I thank everyone for sticking with me to the end and if you want to see a sequel, you're going to have to tell me by either telling me in the reviews, favoriting or following. If I do decide to do a sequel, I'll post a small preview of it in this story to tell y'all.**

 **Sal out!**


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